A church for a parish in the rainforest The parish of Ampangalantsary lies in the east of the island of Madagascar in a region of rainforest. For many years now, the Catholic faithful here have longed for a church of their own, for until recently, they had to walk distances of at least five kilometres …
Author archives: mariobard
Haiti – Six kidnapped sisters released
The archdiocese of Port-au-Prince confirmed that the six religious sisters abducted in Haiti last week were freed yesterday (January 24th). The Sisters of Saint Anne and their two companions were held captive for five days after being kidnapped by unidentified gunmen on Friday, January 19th while travelling in Port-au-Prince, Haiti’s capital. The archdiocese said …
Nigeria: In 2023, attacks caused over 500 victims in Nigeria’s Benue State
Between January and the end of December 2023, the Catholic Diocese of Makurdi, in Nigeria’s Middle Belt region, suffered 119 attacks against the settled populations by Fulani herdsmen. According to a report sent to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), over 400 people were killed, and more than 100 others were wounded, raped, or …
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Iraq – ACN helps Catholic school build a new kindergarten
Thanks to the generosity of Aid to the Church in Need’s benefactors, a growing Catholic school in Erbil was able to open a new kindergarten to accommodate the increasing number of children. Education is vital for the survival of Iraq’s long-suffering Christian community. Economic deprivation and unemployment are at present the biggest issues facing Christians …
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Haiti, January, 24: Join the Call to pray
On this Wednesday, January 24th, the Haitian Bishops’ Conference and the Archdiocese of Port-au-Prince have released an appeal for priests, religious and the laity to organize a chain of unceasing prayer, adoration and Eucharistic celebrations in their parishes and communities “for the release of those kidnapped and their return to their families”on Wednesday, January 24. Maybe …
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Six religious sisters kidnapped in Haiti
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) joins the Pope in asking for the immediate and unconditional release of the religious sisters from the Congregation of Saint Anne and for an end to the violence that plagues Haiti. Six religious sisters were kidnapped by armed criminals in Haiti, last Friday, 19 January. The crime took …
Nigeria -No justice for 300 people massacred on Christmas Eve
Three weeks after extremists murdered more than 300 people, burnt down entire villages, and destroyed food supplies in coordinated attacks in Nigeria’s Plateau State, none of the perpetrators have been held to account. Masara Kim, a local journalist whose cousin was killed, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) that hundreds of …
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ACN Project of the Week – Cuba
Subsistence support for four religious sisters The Missionaries of Jesus Word and Victim (Misioneras de Jesús Verbo y Victima) are religious sisters whose special vocation is to work in poor, remote, and difficult regions where there are few or no priests. Their congregation was founded in 1961 in Peru and is now present in seven …
Aid to the Church in Need welcomes release of priests in Nicaragua
But concerns over lack of religious freedom remain. Nineteen clerics were released and expelled from the country, adding to the dozens of others who have been exiled in the past few years. The restrictions on religious freedom continue in a country where four out of nine dioceses now have bishops living abroad, says Regina Lynch, …
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Brazil-Active elderly religious sisters thank ACN for support
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) provides health support to elderly religious sisters in Northeast Brazil. Despite their age, the sisters remain very active in their communities, and continue to pray for their benefactors. Being a consecrated religious is a lifelong commitment, and the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in northeastern Brazil …
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