Congo-Brazzaville: A forgotten Church

In December, Maxime François-Marsal, head of section for Aid to the Church in Need (ACN)’s French-speaking countries in Central Africa, travelled to Congo-Brazzaville, also known as the Republic of the Congo—a nation which borders Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In this interview, he speaks about the situation of …

Project of the Week – Democratic Republic of the Congo

Two motorcycles for the pre-seminary in Kasongo The propaedeutic, or pre-seminary, in the Diocese of Kasongo, lies in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the population—unlike in other parts of the country—has a Muslim majority. The seminary was founded in 1936 and soon afterwards began to take in candidates from …

José Si Esono, the catechist who gave his life for the faith

Central Africa – Equatorial Guinea During a visit to the head office of Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Miguel Angel Nguema Bee, from the Diocese of Ebebiyin, recounted the moving story of the first catechist to be martyred in Equatorial Guinea. His name was José Si Esono and the local …

ACN Project of the Week-Cameroon and Central African Republic

Help for the training of 42 young Carmelites Even as a child, Jean-Thierry Ebogo had nurtured a secret dream – to be like Jesus! And to do so, he planned to become a priest. It was the year 2003 when as a young man, he finally entered the Carmelite monastery of Nkoabang in Cameroon. He …

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 …

ACN Success Story: Uganda

A minibus to support religious sisters in their ministry The Little Sisters of Saint Francis is a local congregation founded in 1923 by Irish Franciscan Mother Mary Kevin Kearney, who first came to Uganda in 1902. She started with five other sisters, initially working under the shade of a tree, treating the sick and teaching …

Centrafrica – “Even if people have forgotten you, God has not forgotten you.”

Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga tours his war-torn country, Central African Republic (CAR), where some young people find it difficult to lay down their weapons and find their way back to school. On his travels to the ‘margins,’ which are particularly close to the heart of Pope Francis, the cardinal feels the pulse of an abandoned population. …

Project of the Week – Chad

Supporting the formation of 48 seminarians from the Diocese of Sarh Chad has an area of approximately 1.3 million km², making it the 21st largest country in the world. However, with roughly 17 million inhabitants, it is very sparsely populated. Part of the country lies within the Sahara region, and it is one of the …

Chad – A vigorous minority in the desert

Bishop Philippe Abbo Chen is the first native head of the Apostolic Vicariate of Mongo, in eastern Chad. During a recent visit to the international head office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), he spoke to Sylvain Dorient, describing a territory in the heart of the Sahara Desert, inhabited by a large Muslim …