Königstein-Montreal, June 20, 2024 — Aid to the Church in Need released its Annual Report for 2023, which once again reflected the generosity of its benefactors from all around the world to help suffering Christians and the Church in Need. Ukraine, Syria, and Lebanon were the countries that received the most aid in 2023, while Africa was the continent which received the most support.
The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) maintained its level of revenue from previous years, with $209.8 million in donations and legacies received in 2023. Together with $1.2 million in reserves from previous years, the charity was able to fund projects totaling $211 million.
For the ACN Canada office, contributions from benefactors amounted to over $3.3 million, a first in the office’s history. “Our work to inform and raise awareness of the poverty of Catholic communities, as well as the discrimination and persecution they sometimes face, is bearing fruit,” says Marie-Claude Lalonde, national director. “In addition to the many projects we have funded, we have also put an emphasis on information—a key part of our work that helps people get to know the Church better around the world.”
Around the world, in the 23 countries where the charity has national offices, the generosity of close to 360,000 benefactors has made these projects possible. ACN receives no financial support from governments or ecclesial bodies.
In a message to benefactors, the executive president of ACN International, Regina Lynch, says: “When we read these figures each year, we see a miracle every time.
Human logic would say that it is not possible to make promises to help when there are not yet funds available, but because we believe in Divine Providence, this is what we have been doing successfully since 1947. This is also why our Annual Report provides us first and foremost the opportunity to give thanks to Our Lord.”
A total of 81.3% of these funds went directly to mission-related expenses. Within this amount, 85.9% went to aid projects in 138 countries, allowing the charity to approve 5,573 projects out of the 7,689 requests received from all around the world. The remaining 14.1% (or $24.2 million) went to activities related to information work, proclaiming the faith, and the defence of persecuted Christians, including the publishing of religious literature, as well as prayer campaigns and advocacy for the rights and interests of persecuted and suffering Christians. Essential administrative expenditures accounted for 7.3% and benefactor relations and outreach accounted for 11.4%.
Aid with a global reach
In 2023—and for the second year in a row—the country that received the most aid from ACN was Ukraine, with $11 million, at a time when the Catholic Church in Ukraine remains committed to healing the spiritual wounds of those traumatized by the war and continues, in this difficult situation, to accompany those who are suffering due to the ongoing conflict. Syria came next, with $10.8 million, followed by Lebanon, with over $10 million. In both these countries, the Christian population is still dealing with the effects of a crippling economic crisis and, in the case of Syria, a long-lasting civil war and the terrible earthquake of 2023.
At the regional level, Africa received the most support, with almost a third of resources (31.4%) set aside for projects on the continent. Among the main beneficiary countries in this region were the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Burkina Faso. “Africa is home to approximately one in every five Catholics, one in every eight priests, one in every seven female religious, and almost a third of seminarians in the world. Besides that, the spread of terrorism and Islamic extremism in some countries, especially in the Sahel region, are a cause of great suffering and pain for Christians on this continent,” Lynch explains.
The Middle East received the second highest amount of support (19.1%). In Syria, 61% of the funds went towards emergency aid, including food and housing, medical assistance, and microcredit support for businesses. In Lebanon, emergency aid accounted for 47% of the total aid to the country. This was mainly used to maintain the operation of Christian schools, but a considerable amount was also allocated to food, housing, and medical care.
A further 17.3% of ACN funds in 2023 went to Asia-Oceania, especially to India, which is also the country where ACN provides the largest number of scholarships to priests and religious. Europe and Latin America received 15.4% and 15.3% of the total aid respectively. The remaining 1.5% went to other regions.
Close to 6,000 projects approved
The international charity provided almost 1.75 million Mass stipends to 40,767 priests in 2023. Statistically, this means that 1 in 10 priests worldwide received support from ACN and that every 18 seconds, a Mass was celebrated somewhere in the world for the intentions of ACN benefactors.
ACN also supported the formation of almost 11,000 seminarians in 2023, representing 1 in 10 training for the priesthood around the world. Most of these (5,793) were in Africa, which is now home to the highest number of priestly vocations worldwide, followed by Latin America with 2,103 seminarians helped by ACN, Asia with 1,996, and Europe with 1,099, of which over 600 are in Ukraine.
Support for the formation of priests, religious, and laypeople represented 26.7% of all the support, whereas Mass stipends and subsistence aid for religious sisters accounted for 21.6%.
Given the high costs of construction projects, this type of aid topped the list, with a little over a quarter of the aid provided (26.8%). In 2023, there were almost 1,000 construction projects, one third of which involved churches and chapels. The remaining amount went to the renovations of convents, seminaries, parish houses, and pastoral centres. Africa was the region with the most construction projects, with 36.2% of all funds going to this purpose.
ACN also directed 10.4% of its aid to pastoral transport, providing 1,041 means of transportation to help pastoral agents carry out their missions, including 515 cars (over 10% of them for Ukraine), 340 motorcycles, 175 bicycles, 6 buses and 5 boats, as well as 21 projects for maintenance and repair.
Emergency aid accounted for nearly 11% of expenses, which in 2023, went to more countries than before, including to the Holy Land, where the recent conflict has had such a serious adverse effect on the Christian population.
Looking to the future, Regina Lynch explains that “in 2024, our focus is tending to shift towards the need of pastoral accompaniment and support for people in war zones or facing persecution, who have suffered deep trauma as a result. This is an area where we hope to further intensify our help. We also want to step up our help in the Sahel region, where jihadist terrorism is spreading and where Christians are facing increasing suffering from the violence,” she concludes.
ACN’s financial statements have been audited and certified by PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers)
