Christians make up about 30% of the nation’s population, yet also like the persecution of Christians in neighboring countries, their persecution is escalating.
For previous ChristianPersecution.com coverage of the persecution of Christians in Burkina Faso, see here.
“As persecution worsens in Burkina Faso, Christians come back to the Church,” by Ngala Killian Chimtom, Crux Now, September 9, 2023:
YAOUNDÈ, Cameroon – An expert on anti-Christian persecution says that escalating jihadist violence in the African nation of Burkina Faso is producing the paradoxical effect of inducing lapsed Christians to return to religious practice.
Maria Lozano of the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) described the phenomenon as “a beautiful message of faith.”
In a conversation with Crux, Lozano said she has had conversations with clerics in Burkina Faso who tell her that the people know that “their lives are in danger” and are therefore more motivated to revert to Christianity as a preparation for eternal life should the worst happen.
“They face terrorism, so they believe the best way out is to become Christians,” Lozano told Crux.
“It is through faith that they have their consolation, and through faith, they know they could have eternal life,” she said….
The same paradox of a Church that has continued to grow despite the persistence of those trying to annihilate it also has been underlined by Father Pierre Rouamba, the Prior General of the Missionary Brothers of the Countryside.
“It is truly striking to note that Christians, who had to some extent abandoned religious practice before the crisis, are returning to the faith at a time when the terrorists are doing what they can to extinguish Christianity,” Rouamba said in an interview with ACN….
According to the 2023 Religious Freedom Report published in June by ACN, Burkina Faso is one of the 13 African countries where Christians are most persecuted….
Rouamba says Christians in Burkina Faso want to be “a sign of Christian hope in the midst of desolation. We are accompanied by Christ, because He Himself went through the suffering that we are going through.”
“We do not know if we will survive beyond the next day,” Rouamba said. “This forces us to deepen our personal relationship with Him.”
