Offer a Mass
Helping persecuted and needy Christians is of the utmost importance and the highest priority for Aid to the Church in Need.
Mass intentions therefore serve as a means of funding training for priests, subsistence aid for religious members or Faith formation of the laity – we sponsor thousands who have consecrated their lives to the Church each and every year so that they, in turn, can respond to their calling to support the faithful.
In many places today, poverty is pervasive in the countries where we help and the faithful are barely able to ensure their own survival, let alone that of their priests. Even the bishops often lack the financial means to provide their priests with a regular wage. In these areas, Mass Offerings are often their only means of subsistence in order to access essentials for living.
Mass intentions are monetary donations, they are linked with a request to celebrate Holy Mass, Sung Masses or Gregorian Masses for the deceased and the sick or for spiritual help with other concerns, as directed by the individual benefactor.
In 2019, a total of 1,378,635 Mass intentions Holy Masses were celebrated in the intentions of our benefactors translating into the support of roughly 1 in 10 of the world’s 414,582 Catholic priests.
“Putting the plight of the people before God is part of our mission.“
Fr. Martin Barta, former Aid to the Church in Need Ecclesiastical Assistant
The distribution of the Mass intentions is determined by the gravity of the economic situation on the continents. In this reporting year, 38% of the Mass intentions went to Africa, 26% to Asia and the Near and Middle East, 15% to Latin America and 21% to Central and Eastern Europe.
like here in the Moita Bwawani Mission, Tanzania.
By offering Masses and prayers for the deceased and the sick, for people who are experiencing crises or on difficulties our donors may be facing, they are taking part in the Eucharistic celebration in a very special way.
Many of our benefactors recognize the profound spiritual purpose of uniting their charity with prayer. On average, a Holy Mass is held every 22 seconds for the intentions of ACN benefactors from all over the planet – somewhere in the world.
For some priests, Mass intentions are a sole source of income.
Most of the priests not only use Mass intentions for their own subsistence, but to cover some of the costs of their pastoral activities. In this way, Mass intentions are intended to secure the immediate livelihood of priests and their parishes. As a basic principle, 100% of the Mass intentions are forwarded to the intended recipients.