The following reflection on the situation regarding Persecuted Christians, as seen in the Open Doors Watch List 2026, is presented by Restore God’s Kingdom, a charity with a ‘mission to promote the faith, protect the faithful & pray for the faithless through humanitarian, sacramental, & pastoral care’
The newly released Open Doors World Watch List 2026 offers a distressing but indispensable account of the state of Christian life across the world.
More than 388 million Christians - about one in seven worldwide - are experiencing high levels of persecution or discrimination simply for confessing Christ. This represents not an abstract statistic, but millions of lives lived under daily pressure, fear, and often violent hostility.
Once again, North Korea tops the list as the most dangerous place on earth to be a Christian. In countries such as Somalia, Sudan, Nigeria, Iran, and Pakistan, believers face a lethal convergence of militant Islam, entrenched bureaucratic and cultural discrimination, authoritarian political/judicial/police classes, and lawless violence. Churches are burned, clergy kidnapped or murdered, families displaced, and entire Christian communities driven underground - if not extirpated completely.
As Michael Kinsella of Restore God’s Kingdom observes:
“The Open Doors report is by far the best researched and most analytically accurate report on Christian persecution globally - and therefore it is of immense help in preparing the most effective policy and aid responses to these beleaguered Christian communities.
What we are witnessing is not random intolerance, but a systematic assault on Christianity from multiple directions: radical Islam on the one hand, and militant secular ideologies - often rooted in aggressively atheistic and communist regimes - on the other.
Both share a hostility to Christ, to the Church, and to the freedom of conscience - and thereby to Christians themselves. The persecuted Church today is paying the price for remaining faithful to truths these regimes wish to erase.”
In few places is this more evident than in Nigeria, which continues to account for the highest number of Christian martyrdoms worldwide.
According to Open Doors and corroborating human-rights reports, thousands of Christians (clergy and laity alike) were killed in the past year alone, particularly in the Middle Belt and northern regions, where extremist groups target villages, churches, and priests with impunity.
Father Peter Johnson, a Nigerian priest working daily under these conditions, speaks with quiet clarity:
“In parts of our country, worshippers attend Mass knowing their church may be attacked at any stage. Priests travel knowing they may not return. Yet the hunger for the Eucharist has only grown stronger. Our brothers and sisters have a right to the Sacraments, which is why the work of Restore God's Kingdom is so important. When everything else is taken, Christ remains! ”
The World Watch List also records mass displacement, forced conversions, sexual violence, and the destruction of Christian homes and livelihoods—particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. And yet, in the midst of this suffering, the Church does not vanish. She endures. She worships. She serves...and She forgives.
This is the paradox at the heart of the persecuted Church: where the Cross is heaviest, faith is often most luminous.
For Restore God’s Kingdom, this reality shapes both prayer and action. As Michael Kinsella further notes:
“RGK exists not only to help provide daily bread - which is vital - but to help ensure the Bread of Life reaches suffering and persecuted Christians. For communities under attack, the sacraments, the Mass, and the presence of a faithful priest are not luxuries. They are lifelines.”
One of the most immediate and effective ways Catholics can support persecuted Christians is through the provision of Mass offerings. These offerings:
*Sustain priests materially so they can remain with their people
*Enable direct humanitarian assistance distributed through trusted local clergy
*Safeguard the sacramental and pastoral life of communities under threat
*Strengthen Christian witness where faith is most costly
In places where Christians are hunted, the Holy Mass is often the final and fiercest act of resistance.
We therefore invite readers to:
*Pray intentionally for the persecuted Church
*Follow and share Restore God’s Kingdom on social media
*Support persecuted priests and communities through Mass offerings and charitable giving
The World Watch List 2026 is a summons to solidarity, to prayer, and to action. When one part of the Body of Christ suffers, all suffer with it. And when the Church stands with her persecuted members, she stands closest to her Lord.
You can read more about Restore God’s Kingdom at their website
You can also follow them on social media, on X and Youtube
Restore God’s Kingdom reflect on the latest terrible statistics emerging from the Open Doors Watch List.