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 …

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 …

Project of the Week – Central African Republic

Ongoing formation for 45 priests and deacons in the Diocese of Bouar The Central African Republic is one of the poorest and most underdeveloped nations in the world and continues to be plagued by constant unrest and coup attempts. Many areas of the country are being controlled by a variety of armed rebel groups. The …

Democratic Republic of the Congo – A priest at the service of inmates

In the extreme conditions of the Congolese prison system, a priest is struggling to protect inmates from hunger and despair. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) reports from the central prison in Bukavu, in the far east of the country (South Kivu region) on the work of the Church among these otherwise abandoned people. …

Central African Republic: Religious war can be avoided

The archbishop of Bangui, capital of the Central African Republic, recently visited the international headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in Germany. In this interview, Archbishop Dieudonné Nzapalainga recalls the decisive action taken by religious leaders to prevent the conflict in the country from turning into a religious war. Tell us a …

RWANDA: Forgiveness is a power given by God

How the Church is helping the reintegration of those imprisoned for genocide against the Tutsis. April 7 was declared International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda. Twenty-nine years after these tragic events (April 7 – July 15, 1994), the prisoners who are still incarcerated are those who received the …