Honduras: “Communities that used to kill each other now pray together”

Life is not easy for Christians in Honduras, who must deal with criminal gangs, poverty, and a shortage of vocations. Veronica Katz, head of section for Central America at the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), recently visited the country and says that the fruits of pastoral work and the commitment …

Peru – Genaro, an example of faith and love for Our Lady!

An Irish missionary tells Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) about the love that the Peruvian people have for Our Lady and how Protestant sects take advantage of the shortage of priests in the country to aggressively convince Catholics to leave the Church. “Oh Father, thanks for visiting. I need to speak to you.” …

Colombia: Walking to Heaven together

A young priest speaks of the challenges and joys in bringing the sacraments to the most isolated communities in the Colombian Amazon. Father Jonathas Fernandes is only 33, but he already has an impressive resume as a missionary. He was only a child, in his native Brazil, when he felt a calling to the priesthood: …

Nuns, Everyday Heroines

Release of ACN Canada’s Magazine Montreal, April 11, 2024 – The first edition of ACN Canada’s Magazine for 2024 is now available! Entitled Nuns, Everyday Heroines, the issue features short portraits of the extraordinary work carried out by nuns around the world. “The word heroines is absolutely fitting,” says Marie-Claude Lalonde, national director of Aid …

Peru-Living the faith in the highest inhabited place in the world

Between coca plantations, illegal gold mining, and a lack of vocations, Bishop Giovanni Cefai of the Territorial Prelature of Santiago Apóstol de Huancané speaks about the difficulties of trying to evangelize in such a challenging atmosphere. The Prelature of Santiago Apóstol de Huancané, which was formed in 2019 and is dependent on the Archdiocese of …

ACN Project of the Week – Brazil

Subsistence aid for 30 religious sisters The Diocese of Cajazeiras lies in the northeast of Brazil, widely regarded as one of the poorest regions in the country. It is a region afflicted by severe droughts, and the people of this very rural area are for the most part very poor. Not surprisingly, the diocese also …

Project of the Week – Venezuela

Rebuilding a parish house destroyed by a tropical storm Venezuela is regularly hit with tropical storms and other natural disasters, and the country was particularly hard-hit by the passage of Hurricane Julia in October 2022, which caused extensive damage. Tens of people died, and countless houses were destroyed. Among the places hardest hit by the …

Argentinian Patagonia: mission country

The Church in Patagonia faces unique challenges marked by vast distances, great diversity, and a lack of resources. One of the bishops in charge of overseeing the development of the Church in this vast territory of Argentina is Msgr. Roberto Álvarez, who sat down with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) to share his …

Project of the Week – Ecuador

Supporting the prison apostolate in the Archdiocese of Guayaquil Overall, violence is growing alarmingly in Latin America. Ecuador is the sixth worst among the countries affected by this problem. In the years 2021 to 2022 alone, the number of killings increased by over 80%. In the port city of Guayaquil, which has close to three …

Venezuela marks 140 years of the first Lourdes pilgrimage in the Americas

The pilgrimage was instituted in 1884 by Fr. Machado, the Venezuelan priest in the Diocese of La Guaira, after returning from a trip to the famous shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Tony Pereira, a lay member of the current organizing committee, spoke to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) about the …