By Paschal Norbert
VATICAN CITY/EL FASHER, JUNE 16, 2024 (CISA) – Pope Leo on Sunday expressed deep sorrow over the death of Rev. Fr. Luke Jumu, a Catholic priest killed in Sudan’s war-ravaged North Darfur region, as the country’s civil conflict claims its first known Catholic clerical casualty.
“I am also thinking of the Republic of Sudan, which has been devastated by violence for over two years. I received the sad news of the death of the Rev. Luke Jumu, parish priest of El Fasher, victim of a bombing,” the pope said in his address before the Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square on June 15.
“While I assure you of my prayers for him and for all the victims, I renew my appeal to the fighters to stop, protect civilians and engage in a dialogue for peace,” Pope Leo urged. “I urge the international community to step up its efforts to provide at least essential assistance to the population, which is severely affected by the serious humanitarian crisis.”
Fr Luke Jumu (also referred to as Luka Jomo in earlier dispatches), was parish priest of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, when he was struck and killed by a stray bullet in the early hours of June 13, during an intensified assault by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — a powerful paramilitary militia currently battling the Sudanese military for control of the country.
The Vicar General of the Diocese of El Obeid, Fr Abdallah Hussein, confirmed the priest’s death in a statement shared with the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN): “Dear fathers, sisters, and all the faithful. It is with great sorrow that I write to inform you of Fr Luka Jomo’s passing to the Father’s House this morning (June 13) at 3am in El Fasher. The cause of death was a stray bullet that took his life and that of two other young people. Let us unite in prayer and ask God the Father that their souls may rest in peace.”
Sudan’s war, which erupted in April 2023, pits the national army against the RSF, once an auxiliary security force. The conflict has devastated cities like Khartoum, El Obeid, and El Fasher, reducing hospitals, schools, and civilian infrastructure to rubble. The siege on El Fasher, where Fr Jumu served, has been particularly brutal.
According to local sources speaking to ACN, the priest had been trapped in the city since early 2023.
“Since January, we had been trying to help Father Jomo leave the city, but it was impossible to escape due to the complete encirclement by the militias,” the sources said.
They confirmed that the city had been relentlessly bombarded in recent weeks, and that “during one of these attacks, a likely stray bullet ended [Father Jomo’s] life. We do not believe he was the intended target.”
El Fasher remains at the heart of a humanitarian disaster, with the United Nations repeatedly calling for aid corridors to be opened, appeals the RSF has reportedly refused. Although many Christians fled at the start of the war, around 300 families, mostly elderly, women, and children, remain trapped, some of them caught while fleeing Khartoum.
In El Obeid, another embattled city under military control, Bishop Yunan Tombe reported in January that “all Muslim schools closed after a shell killed 35 girls in a school in the city.” Nevertheless, he noted that the Catholic Church has kept operating six kindergartens, six primary schools, and one secondary school, the only education still accessible to children in the area.
Since the war began, Catholic churches in Sudan have doubled as shelters for internally displaced persons, many of whom now rely on external aid for survival. Aid to the Church in Need has stepped in to support over 500 families in the Catholic Archdiocese of Khartoum, providing food, medical care, mosquito nets, tarpaulins, and assistance with transport for those seeking refuge across the border in South Sudan.
ACN International President Regina Lynch also mourned Fr. Jumu’s death, saying: “Let us pray for the eternal rest of Father Luka and the two others who died in El Fasher, and for their families and community. But also for all Christians in Sudan and all the people of this country, victims of war and violence, so that they may soon attain the longed-for peace.”
