Ten years of bringing hope and fostering coexistence in Iraq In 2014, Yohana Al-Zebbaree was a pre-teen boy from a Chaldean Catholic family living in the northern Iraqi city of Duhok when jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) overran Mosul and began expanding their control over large parts of northern Iraq. “I remember the night …
Continue reading “Catholic University in Erbil is celebrating ten years: Bravo!”
Bishop David Tencer has been a missionary in Iceland, where the Atlantic meets the Arctic, for over two decades. Since 2015, the Slovakian Capuchin, with his wide smile, has been responsible for the northernmost diocese in Europe. During a visit to the headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), he showed that his …
Continue reading “Faith among the glaciers: a Capuchin bishop on the Church’s northern front”
In the ancient Christian nation of Ethiopia, there are nomadic groups who have never heard the Gospel. The Spiritans work with these communities to spread the Good News and evangelize their culture, which also involves dialogue with controversial traditions. “Every community has its own culture, and of course, their culture is beautiful,” says Fr. Kilimpe …
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Harshly persecuted for her faith, Sofia ended up finding solace in God and the strength to forgive those who forced her from her country and nearly killed her several times. On August 6, 2014, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Christians had to leave everything behind and escape their homeland, as terrorists from the Islamic State …
Continue reading “The young girl who fled from Iraq and met the Pope”
Thanks to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and its benefactors From kindergartens to universities, many students are receiving an education thanks to ACN-funded programs in crisis-hit countries around the world, where Christian communities are in danger of extinction. As a new school year begins in many parts of the world, thousands of children …
Continue reading “Thousands of children prepare to return to school”
In the heart of southeastern Guatemala, the small village of Villa Graciela bears witness to the humility and perseverance of the Church. Thanks to the silent commitment of laypeople such as Mirna Sucely Ramírez and José Flavio Silvestre, pastoral life flourishes within the community which has been struggling to rebuild not only the physical structure …
The small Catholic community keeps on growing year after year, and relations with its Orthodox and Lutheran brothers and sisters are remarkable. Imagine a country the size of Italy with only eight parishes and 29 priests or living 300km away from the closest Catholic church. This is everyday life for Bishop Raimo Ramón Goyarrola Belda …
With the support of Pontifical Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the international exhibition “The Shroud of Turin” opened its doors in the capital of Kazakhstan, marking a milestone in interreligious dialogue in Central Asia. An exact replica (see the picture below) of one of the most venerated objects in Christianity, the Shroud …
More than 600 young people in the Holy Land experienced a week of fun and freedom thanks to the local Church and Pontifical Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). This year, because of the escalation of the conflict between Israel and Iran, the opportunity to get away from the difficulties of their daily …
Continue reading “Holy Land – Youth are “breathing freedom” at ACN-funded Summer Camps”
Five years have passed since one of the most devastating moments in Lebanon’s recent history—the Beirut port explosion of August 4, 2020. The blast killed over 200 people, injured more than 7,000, and left entire neighbourhoods in ruins. Around 300,000 people were left homeless. Yet amid the trauma and hardship, many Lebanese cling to faith, …
