Mongolia – Historical upcoming visit by Pope Francis

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) set to accompany pope during his visit to the country that forms a bridge between Central and East Asia. Pope Francis will be in Mongolia from September 1 to 4, to visit the very small but growing Catholic community and meet with other religious leaders in the country. …

Religious Freedom – To watch for in Canada

Press Release — For Immediate Release   Montreal, August 31, 2023 – Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) makes the new Executive Summary of its Religious Freedom in the World Report 2023 available to its benefactors and supporters. ACN Canada also takes this opportunity to announce that Red Wednesday 2023 will take place on …

ACN Project of the Week – Paraguay

Subsistence support for 12 religious sisters – Vicariate Apostolic of Chaco Paraguayo The “Daughters of Mary Help of Christians” belong to the religious family of the Salesians of Don Bosco and are devoted in particular to the education of young people. Twelve sisters from this community currently live and work in the Vicariate Apostolic of …

Interview – Tabitha: My new life

A Pakistani Christian nurse, who narrowly escaped being lynched by a large mob of people after being accused of blasphemy, has spoken of her joy after arriving in North America to start a new life with her family. Video footage of Tabitha Nazir Gill, now 32, being beaten up by colleagues went viral in early …

ACN Success Story – Pakistan

Sunday school for the children of a very large parish The Holy Spirit parish, based in Sangla Hill, is the largest parish in the Archdiocese of Lahore. It includes a total of 67 villages, many of them far from the parish centre. This is why Father Akmal Patras was determined to give Catholic children living …

Pakistan – Parishioners gather for Mass outside their torched church

There were tears of sadness and fear in Pakistan on Sunday (20th August) as a crowd of 700 attended Mass outside their burnt-out church following one of the country’s worst outbreaks of persecution in a generation. Amid tight security, Bishop Indrias Rehmat of Faisalabad presided at the Mass held in the streets of Jaranwala where …

Aid to the Church in Need proposes the Rosary for peace!

A prayerful start to a new school yearOne Million Children Praying the Rosary is back. Press Release – One Million Children Praying the Rosary Montreal, August 18, 2023 – In Canada, it is back-to-school season and Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is proposing a pastoral activity for the start of the 2023-2024 school …

Pakistan – Christians terrified as mobs burn down churches and homes

Several church buildings—between 13 and 17, according to sources—have been attacked and hundreds of Christian homes destroyed after extremists went on the rampage in Pakistan. Christians from the city of Jaranwala, near Faisalabad, in the Punjab region, fled en masse as extremists began throwing rocks and stones and setting fire to buildings. The incident follows …

ACN Project of the Week – Burundi

In Gitega, a vehicle for a parish run by Monfortians Burundi is one of the smallest—but most densely populated (roughly 310 to 422 inhabitants per square foot)—countries in Africa. It has an area of just under 28,000 km² and a population of almost 12 million people. In 2023, the country is considered to be the …

India, Manipur – Pray for an end to the suffering!

A Catholic archbishop in northeast India, who has seen his diocese at the centre of a wave of deadly attacks, has issued an urgent appeal for prayers “to transform the minds of the people who are led by hatred and religious violence”. In a letter to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Archbishop Dominic …