Catholics in a Ukrainian town live under constant threat of missiles and even have to pay to pray in a Church that was stolen from them by the Soviets at that time. But faith perseveres in Bila Tserkva. Fr. Lucas Perozzi has been serving as a missionary in Ukraine for 22 years (photo). Originally from …
Continue reading “Ukraine – At Christmas, hoping for God despite the threat of death”
Some parishes in northern Mozambique can encompass hundreds of communities, and priests and religious are not capable of reaching them all. Catechists are often on the front lines of the Church in the most difficult regions and circumstances. Around 300 families live in difficult conditions in the resettlement camp of Ntele, Cabo Delgado, Mozambique. They …
Continue reading “Catechists in Mozambique: “We seek to rekindle the flame of hope””
Securing the release of the remaining students and staff remains the top priority of the local church, Bishop Bulus Yohanna told ACN. A hundred of the 265 students and staff members abducted on November 21, 2025 from St. Mary’s School, Papiri, have been released after more than two weeks in the hands of their captors. …
Despite several attacks and one attempted murder, Tobias Yahaya and his family decided to remain in Sokoto to carry out his ministry of service to the Church. At around 3 a.m. on April 19, 2023, the security fence around Tobias Yahaya’s home, near Holy Family Cathedral in Sokoto, Northwest Nigeria, was breached by three armed …
Continue reading “Nigeria: catechist forgives man who tried to kill him over his ministry”
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN – International) recently took part in the “Human Dignity” event, part of the yearly “European Prayer Breakfast,” which was held on Wednesday, December 3. The conference was held at the European Parliament and hosted by MEPs (Members of the European Parliament) Bert-Jan Ruissen (Netherlands, European Conservatives and Reformists …
The Catholic parish in Gaza prepares for Advent during an unstable ceasefire. From the heart of the devastated city, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli of the Holy Family parish describes a disastrous sanitary situation and a day-to-day existence marked by a scarcity of means for rebuilding. The parish priest calls on the international community to pray for …
Continue reading “Amid a fragile respite, an urgent plea from Gaza before Christmas”
With unemployment disproportionately affecting the Christian community, and as a gesture during the Jubilee of Hope, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (LPJ) made the decision to cancel student debt in all its schools. Even though Christians are the smallest of the three major faith groups present in the Holy Land, after Jews and Muslims, the …
This year, the Church commemorated the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicaea, an important anniversary for the entire Christian world. This November, Pope Leo XIV is scheduled to visit Turkey, where the council was held, fulfilling the commitment made by Pope Francis before his death. International Catholic charity Aid to the Church in …
The end of Christianity in Syria would be a great loss, because “the Church stands as a reminder to everyone of the ethics of justice and human dignity as a supreme value.” Syriac Catholic Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs, Hama and Nabk was recently in Rome as one of those to take part in the …
Shagufta Kausar was sentenced to death for alleged blasphemy and spent over eight years in prison. She recently shared her story at the launching of the Religious Freedom in the World Report, in Rome. In the summer of 2013, a mob broke into the simple house where Shagufta Kausar lived with her paralyzed husband, Shafqat …
