Ferdinand Habsburg joins ACN International as Secretary General following a successful and international career in the media and education sector. Pontifical Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International has announced the appointment of Mr. Ferdinand Habsburg as Secretary General. The appointment was formally made by Executive President Regina Lynch on January 13, in …
Continue reading “Ferdinand Habsburg appointed Secretary General”
The Catholic parish in Gaza prepares for Advent during an unstable ceasefire. From the heart of the devastated city, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli of the Holy Family parish describes a disastrous sanitary situation and a day-to-day existence marked by a scarcity of means for rebuilding. The parish priest calls on the international community to pray for …
Continue reading “Amid a fragile respite, an urgent plea from Gaza before Christmas”
This year, the Church commemorated the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, an important anniversary for the entire Christian world. This November, Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit Turkey, where the council was held, fulfilling the commitment made by Pope Francis before his death. International Catholic charity Aid to the Church in …
The small Catholic community keeps on growing year after year, and relations with its Orthodox and Lutheran brothers and sisters are remarkable. Imagine a country the size of Italy with only eight parishes and 29 priests or living 300km away from the closest Catholic church. This is everyday life for Bishop Raimo Ramón Goyarrola Belda …
Five years have passed since one of the most devastating moments in Lebanon’s recent history—the Beirut port explosion of August 4, 2020. The blast killed over 200 people, injured more than 7,000, and left entire neighbourhoods in ruins. Around 300,000 people were left homeless. Yet amid the trauma and hardship, many Lebanese cling to faith, …
Bishop of Bunia: “We need support for displaced priests.” Following the brutal attack carried out on the night of July 26-27 in the town of Komanda, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the local Church has raised its voice in condemnation and pain. The attack, which occurred at around two …
MY EXPERIENCE OF CAPTIVITY I was driving from Mubi (Adamawa State, Nigeria) to Maiduguri (Borno State) for a JDPC workshop on June 1st, 2025, alongside 2 other staff who were attending the same workshop. 3 hours into the journey, shortly after the military checkpoint at Limankara, we ran into an explosive. Immediately after the explosive, …
Militants stormed the church during an early morning prayer vigil, killing approximately 40 people with guns and machetes. At least 40 people, including many children, were killed in a massacre in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the early hours of Sunday, July 27. The attack took place in the east of the country, …
Continue reading “Dozens killed in another church massacre in DR Congo”
A gift to young pilgrims: the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a way to conversion. The Circus Maximus in Rome will be hosting one of the greatest catechetical initiatives of the Holy Year next Friday, August 1, during the Youth Jubilee, with the distribution of 10,000 free copies of a special edition of the YOUCAT Confession …
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International joyfully announces the release of Father Alphonsus Afina, a priest of the Diocese of Maiduguri, Nigeria, who had been abducted on June 1, 2025 by armed militants and spent 51 days in captivity. His release, along with that of the ten women who were also held captive, …
