Priestly vocations in Burkina Faso increase despite Muslim terrorism

In the midst of the constant terrorist attacks suffered by Catholics in Burkina Faso, at the hands of Islamic fundamentalism, vocations to the priesthood have increased in recent years, especially in dioceses located in “danger zones.”

Almost 40% of the seminarians come from these locations, which are the most affected by terrorism and violence.

According to the pontifical foundation Help the Church in Need (ACN, for its acronym in English) the number of candidates for the priesthood went from 254 in the 2019-2020 academic year, only in the Saint Peter and Saint Paul Seminary, to 281 in 2024-2025.

Terrorist violence began to wreak havoc in the African country precisely in 2019. Father Guy Moukassa, rector of this training center, explained that during vacation time not all students can return home. Doing so would mean “a mortal danger”, so they are received in diocesan centers, in host families or are simply invited by their companions to spend the holidays in safer areas.

The rector remembers a third-year philosophy seminarian who ignored warnings and took a forbidden route to visit his father. It never arrived and was never found. His family claims to be convinced that he was murdered. “Other seminarians narrowly escaped,” adds Father Moukassa.

Despite the tragic cases, the rector highlights that it has been the good work of vocational ministry that has had a profound impact on the increase in candidates for the priesthood. Every day, he affirms, young people meet people “who, in a visible way, bear witness to the love of Christ.”

Furthermore, he expresses that the simplicity with which people live in Burkina Faso is ideal for young people to seriously consider consecrating their lives to the service of the Lord and his Church, “which is in a materialistic context in which nothing is expected from them anymore.” God”.

“We have divided community rooms into small units separated by partitions to accommodate them,” comments Father Moukassa about the state of the facilities at the Saints Peter and Paul Seminary.

“However, these conditions are far from ideal for their studies and, furthermore, they are not enough to accommodate them all. For this reason, we have been forced to house 22 seminarians elsewhere and send another eleven to a seminary in Mali,” he adds.

The local Church does everything in its power to offer seminarians high-quality training, since it is crucial “that future priests are able to give an authentic testimony of their faith. May they have had a true personal encounter with Christ and may the Gospel be their food and their passion.”

Finally, he highlighted the great value of training future priests to be apostles of fraternity and unity, especially in a context like Burkina Faso, where before the terrorist attacks, the minority Catholic community had no problem with the majority of the Muslim population.

“Many seminarians have Muslim parents, and although at first that might cause disappointment, in the end it was not a problem. On the other hand, today, if we are not careful, social cohesion could be threatened,” said the rector.

“Often, we only appreciate something when we have lost it. Here, if you ask someone here what they want (for Christmas), they will say peace. May the grace of the Child Jesus reach all hearts,” concluded Father Moukassa.