A young priest speaks of the challenges and joys in bringing the sacraments to the most isolated communities in the Colombian Amazon. Father Jonathas Fernandes is only 33, but he already has an impressive resume as a missionary. He was only a child, in his native Brazil, when he felt a calling to the priesthood: …
Author archives: mariobard
Nigeria – Heroic staff save pupils as gunmen attack Catholic school at night
Hundreds of children have been kidnapped from schools across Nigeria over the past years, but fortunately the latest attack on a catholic school was foiled and nobody was killed or abducted. The quick thinking of a headteacher helped save the lives of sleeping students after armed extremists stormed a secondary school in Nigeria’s Middle Belt …
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India – Seminarian ministering in dangerous jungle ordained priest
A brave Catholic seminarian who spent his pastoral placement ministering in India’s remote, cobra-infested jungle has been ordained last Sunday. Then Deacon Santosh Kumar has been ministering in the parish Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Kalapahad, North Andaman, where parishioners regularly walk 6 km through dangerous forests to attend Sunday Mass. But Deacon Kumar and …
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“The light of faith and the witness of the Gospel can shine again.”
Darayya, Syria Fifteen Catholic families are able to return to the Christian quarter of a suburb of Damascus thanks to the reconstruction of their homes with the help of ACN. This will secure the Christian presence in the place where, according to various Christian traditions, the conversion of the Apostle Paul occurred. An elderly couple …
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Nigeria – Leah Sharibu turns 21 in Boko Haram captivity
A jihadist captive turned 21 today (May 14th), six years after being abducted from her school in Nigeria and held hostage for refusing to renounce her Christian faith. (Cover photo: during a protest in 2018, a banner to request Leah’s liberation). On her birthday, a pastor close to Leah Sharibu’s family called on the Nigerian …
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ACN Project of the Week-Cameroon
Subsistence aid for three religious sisters The congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Divine Providence was founded in Nigeria in the year 2000. The sisters visit the sick and elderly in their homes, caring for them and bringing them Holy Communion. They also support families and women with practical help and advice and are active …
Burundi – Bishops denounce murders and abductions of citizens, saying the situation “makes one shudder.”
Human rights violations are widespread in Burundi, a small country which borders the much larger Democratic Republic of the Congo. For years, the country has been largely isolated from the outside world. Recently, the Burundian bishops drew attention to the country’s plight, which goes largely unnoticed by the general public. For decades, Burundi – a …
ACN Success Story – DRC
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Liturgical and theological literature for future priests There are presently 20 young men from the Diocese of Bokungu-Ikela who are training for the priesthood at various seminaries in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Their diocese, which covers an area of just over 40,000 km², is roughly the …
Save the date! One Million Children Praying the Rosary October 18!
Montreal, May 8, 2024 – Dioceses, parishes, schools, religious communities, families, and individuals—all are invited to take part in the next international One Million Children Praying the Rosary (OMC) event on October 18, 2024, organized by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). “On October 18, I invite all Catholics in Canada to pray for …
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Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) head office receives pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fátima
A pilgrim image of Our Lady of Fátima, blessed by Pope Paul VI in 1967, was recently at the international head office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in Königstein im Taunus, Germany. ACN International’s executive president, Regina Lynch, stressed the connection between the charity and the message of Fátima, referring to the …