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Pope Francis: Tributes, mass and vigils held in towns and cities across Europe

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People attend a mass inside Notre Dame cathedral where a poster shows Pope Francis. -

In Italy, bells tolled in church towers and flags were lowered to half-staff on government buildings in Rome.

Vigils, tributes and special services of mass have been held across Europe as faithfuls mourn following the death of the late Pope Francis.

In Italy, bells tolled in church towers and flags were lowered to half-staff on government buildings in Rome.

In France, an Evening Mass was held at Paris’ Notre Dame Cathedral, during which worshippers paid homage to the pontiff during a prayer vigil.

Families attending the evening mass lit candles and placed them in front of a large photograph of the Pope.

The Notre Dame bells also rang out 88 times to mark the years in the Pope’s life, while the Eiffel Tower went dark in tribute to Francis.

In Madrid, mass was held at the Almudena Cathedral where some of those attending spoke of the late pontiff, who died earlier on Monday, and said he would be greatly missed and leave a lasting legacy.

“To us, the Pope represents a memory of love and inclusion. As young people, he marked a turning point in the Church. He was a pope we loved dearly and we will remember him with deep affection,” said Sara Ruiz, a teaching assistant in a local Catholic school.

Missionary nun, Miriam Blanco also spoke of Francis’ legacy, saying “it’s a very beautiful memory and the legacy that he leaves us as Holy Father – truth, his simplicity, his closeness, I think it has been very, very good and we are going to miss him a lot.”

Meanwhile, Vatican flags have been raised in Hungary, Croatia and Bulgaria, where worshippers echoed similar sentiments.

A Requiem Mass is held for Pope Francis inside Westminster Cathedral, in London.AP Photo/Alastair Grant

 

In the small town of Szécsény in Hungary, local residents gathered near the Franciscan church and monastery.

“He was a simple, puritanical man who had tried to bring this to the church as well, rather with less success. Of course, today the pope has relatively little power and voice. Whatever he said, unfortunately, the world did not want to listen to him,” said Lajos Vámosi, a local resident of the town.

Mourners also gathered around the Catholic Cathedral in Zagreb, the Croatian capital, to pay their respects to the late Pope.

“I think one great man has left us. One great man of church, God and the people. This is hard for us. We feel very sorry. I believe he will pray for us from paradise, in the same way that he prayed for us on earth. He was working for everyone, poor or rich,” said Sister Antonija Grubisic, a catholic nun.

Catholics in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia lit candles in the city’s Cathedral, where Monsignor Rumen Stanev said Francis “had a profound affinity for those who are marginalised and abandoned.”

“Like Jesus in the Gospels, he walked among sinners, the outcast, and the weak.”

In the UK too, the Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, celebrated a Requiem Mass at Westminster Cathedral on Monday evening, in honour of Pope Francis.

Flags were also flown at half mast across the capital to mark the Pope’s death.

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Kwara killings: Nnamdi Kanu jailed for warning against Jihadist incursion into Southern Nigeria – Igbo clerics

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An association of Igbo clergymen, Concerned Igbo Ministers’ Commission, has reacted to the recent killings in Kwara State, saying leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, was jailed for warning against ‘Jihadist incursion’ into Nigeria’s southern territories.

Over a hundred deaths have been recorded in the attacks on communities in Kwara, believed to have been carried out by Islamist extremists.

In a statement on Friday, President of the Concerned Igbo Ministers’ Commission, Rev. Tony Uzor, expressed regrets that Kanu’s warning about the spread of extremism in the country, particularly into the South, was ignored.

Uzor expressed disappointment that rather than act on Kanu’s warning, Nigerian authorities threw him into jail.

The clergyman faulted the government for going after Kanu, who he said was only armed with microphone, while pampering insurgents and bandits responsible for killing thousands of Nigerians.

According to Uzor, for the Nigerian government, “words are treated as deadlier than weapons, and warnings are punished more harshly than mass murder”.

The Concerned Igbo Ministers’ Commission added that Kanu was arrested, prosecuted and imprisoned because his broadcasts unsettled the status quo that favours the caliphate.

Faulting Kanu’s conviction, the cleric added, “A man who spoke — who warned, provoked, irritated, unsettled — was caged as though he had spilled blood. Meanwhile, blood was actually spilled elsewhere, in industrial quantities, and the nation barely blinked.

“Justice James Omotosho, presiding over the Federal High Court in Abuja, sentenced Nnamdi Kanu to life imprisonment in November 2025 for terrorism charges — inciting violence through his broadcasts and calls for Biafran independence. Kanu, the very man who had long warned of this exact impending doom in Yorubaland: the spread of religious extremism, the unchecked jihadist incursions into Southern territories, the failure to protect communities from the reach of these terrorists. He was convicted not for wielding weapons, but for wielding words that unsettled the status quo.

“Justice Omotosho handed down concurrent life terms, ensuring Kanu rots in isolation at Sokoto Correctional Centre of all places, the seat of the caliphate itself. All while the real killers in Kwara — and countless other places — evade the same zealous pursuit.

“It is apparently safer to wield an AK-47 assault rifle than a microphone — provided the AK-47 aligns with the unspoken hierarchies of power.”

The Igbo clergymen further expressed concern that hundreds can be killed in rural Nigeria by armed groups whose methods and ideology are well known, without any serious response from the government.

The clerics said the Nigerian government has not displayed the same zeal it deployed in going after Kanu and IPOB in efforts to stop killings by Jihadists and Islamic extremists.

The statement added, “The dead are absorbed into statistics and forgotten.
Take Kwara State, where just this week, Islamic terrorists slaughtered at least 170 people in the villages of Woro and Nuku just as Nnamdi Kanu predicted many years back. Gunmen stormed in, executing residents at close range — many bound and shot, others burned alive — for refusing to submit to extremist Sharia rule. Homes razed, shops looted, families shattered. The attackers, linked to genuine terrorist groups from Northern Nigeria and not proscribed, left a trail of mass graves and missing loved ones.

“President Tinubu deployed troops after the fact, blaming jihadists, but where was the same preemptive fury that accompanied Monday sit-at-home civil disobedience?

“But let one man (Nnamdi Kanu) speak inconvenient truths, invoke history, or challenge the emotional comfort of the state, and the system awakens with ferocity tagging him terrorist when he has not killed anyone. Those who kill are managed. Those who speak are crushed.”

The Concerned Igbo Ministers’ Commission accused the Nigerian government of jailing the country’s “prophets” while protecting killers.

According to the group, the government has shown that it is determined to ensure that Nigeria remains one at all cost.

“The stability of the murderous state matters more than the sanctity of life. Preventing uncomfortable ideas is more urgent than preventing funerals.
Silence in the face of killings is preferable to noise in the face of injustice.

“Because a society confident in its moral foundations does not jail prophets and tolerate killers. It does not obsess over speech while normalizing graves,” the statement added.

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Gospel Legend Ron Kenoly Is Dead

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Legendary gospel singer Ron Kenoly has passed away.

His death was confirmed on Monday, February 3, 2026, with tributes pouring in from gospel artistes across the world. He was 81 years old.

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“Based On Medical Facts, I Don’t Believe This Is A Miracle” – Medical Doctor Reacts To Pastor Chris Oyakhilome’s Miracle Video (Watch)

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A Nigerian medical doctor, Dr Sina, has publicly reacted to a viral miracle video involving Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, stating that based on medical facts, he does not believe the incident qualifies as a miracle.

A video of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome healing some people who were reportedly unable to walk had initially made the rounds, stirring different reactions.

In a detailed breakdown shared online, the doctor explained that he carefully reviewed the video, slowing it down and examining the movements of the individuals described as crippled.

According to him, several physical and neurological signs expected in paralyzed or long-term crippled individuals were absent.

Dr Sina noted that medically, a non-functional or paralyzed leg often presents with abnormal angles, rotations, or muscle wasting due to disuse. However, he claimed these features were not evident in the video.

He also pointed out instances where some individuals appeared to move their legs freely, including crossing them, which he said would be impossible for someone who is paralyzed.

He further argued that even in a scenario where healing occurred instantly, the brain would still need time to relearn movement, balance, and coordination. In his view, the immediate and spontaneous jumping seen in the video did not align with how neurological recovery typically works.

While emphasizing that he believes in miracles as a Christian, Dr Sina maintained that, from a medical standpoint, the video did not provide sufficient evidence to conclude that a genuine miracle had taken place.

He encouraged viewers to slow down the footage themselves and consult medical professionals for further evaluation.

His words …

“I took a look at this Pastor Chris’ video and as a medic I slowed it down and examined critically.
I zoomed into the legs of the so called ” crippled” and here is what I’d say

1 If truly one is crippled , As Medics we know that the particular leg that’s crippled or non functional will assume an angle or rotation , None of the “crippled” had that angle which means most of them had fully functioning leg muscles.

2 If you look well there is a particular woman there that crossed her legs. If you are crippled aka paralyzed you can’t summon muscle power to bring your legs to make that angle

3 I tried to zoom even though I wasnt able to see clearly , usually when one has been crippled for a while there is tendency for the muscle to be asymmetric due to disuse, (except they’ve been having physio) took a look at all of them well, even though difficult i didn’t see physical signs of being crippled.

4 Even if we assume they were crippled for a while. If they miraculously got new nerves and muscles cells.
Jumping off the bed, the brain and other organs will still have to remaster movement. Balance and a little stagger.
The jump was spontaneous and not looking like a need for remastering.

Were they really crippled from the beginning ?

5 Slow the video and zoom zoom and check the occasional movement of the lower limb muscles of some of them ( show your doctor friends) that shows signs of intact nerve and muscle control

So are they really crippled?
PS- crippled will mean paralyzed or Paraplegic ( medical word)

Do miracles exist? As a Christian yes.
But is this a miracle? Looking at medical facts evidenced i don’t believe it is a miracle denovo.

You can fact check yourself”

Check out his post …

 

Watch tthe video below:

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