ACN Success Story – Belarus

Heating for the parish church in Zaslaŭje The small town of Zaslaŭje in Belarus is around 25 kilometres north of the capital Minsk. The Catholic parish here has around 400 faithful. Their 18th-century church of the Nativity of Mary was shut down in Soviet times and used as a dump, being badly damaged in the …

Brazil: Sowing the seeds of the Gospel in the Amazon

By evangelizing and helping the Ticuna Indigenous people, the Capuchin friars, with support from Aid to the Church in Need, are helping to preserve the Amazon rainforest. “I have never left this place, I know nothing of the world, but I believe in God. He gives me eternal life. I called the friars here to …

ACN to focus on Middle East, Sahel, and Latin America in 2024

Regina Lynch, executive president of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), highlights the worrying increase in religious freedom violations around the world, but also the positive reaction to ACN campaigns such as Red Wednesday and One Million Children Praying the Rosary. You were nominated executive president in April 2023. What is your view for …

ACN Project of the Week – India

A chapel in the village of a vast parish The parish of the Immaculate Conception in Moharpara, in northeast India, lies close to the border with Bangladesh. It includes 31 different villages and serves a population of around 5,000 Catholics, most of them relatively young in age. The parish is vast, and many of the …

Fulani herders kill nearly 200 Christians at Christmas in central Nigeria

Terrorists caused death and destruction during the Christmas holidays among the Christian communities in Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, and Mangu (but Bokkos was the epicentre) Plateau State, central Nigeria. The executive president of ACN, Regina Lynch, regrets yer another episode of violence against Christians in Nigeria. “This year began with the brutal murder of Fr Isaac …

Cardinal Nzapalainga: “As a Christian, I must hear and see things differently.”

During an interview at the international head office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga from the Diocese of Bangui spoke about the attitude a Christian must have in the face of suffering as well as towards sisters and brothers in need. He also shared his experiences from the Synod on …

First “Courage to be a Christian” award goes to Nigerian Pentecost bombing victims

Margaret Attah—who lost both her legs and part of her vision in an attack on a church in western Nigeria—and Dominic Attah travelled to London to receive the award, presented by the UK office of Aid to the Church in Need. Two of the survivors of an attack that left 41 Christians dead and more …

Holy Land: Supporting the presence of Christians

Job creation and skill-building is key to keeping Christians in the Holy Land With the world’s eyes on Gaza, few are aware that the Palestinians in the West Bank are also suffering the social and economic effects of the war in the Holy Land. The international charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has …

Syria: Milad means Christmas

How a little ray of hope brightened the darkness for a family in Damascus during Christmas Even the faces of the seven children look sad and serious. Somewhat tense, they sit next to their parents on the worn-out sofa. The living room is surrounded by bare, light brown walls from which the plaster is crumbling …