This is the story of Aparecida, an 80-year-old widow who represents thousands of benefactors of the charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) around the world. Like the widow in the Gospel story, Aparecida doesn’t give to ACN what she has left over but rather makes sacrifices to help those most in need. The …
Category archives: South America
Peru – Pope Leo XIV’s dedication
Former fellow missionary recalls Pope Leo’s dedication to the poor and suffering Pope Leo XIV served in Peru during a difficult period, when the Augustinians were under threat from terrorists and the population was struggling. “He made sure the poor were treated with dignity,” says Fr. Lydon. Pope Leo XIV is “going to hear the …
Testimony – “I was the pope’s altar server in Chiclayo. Now I promote ACN in Peru”
“I was the pope’s altar server in Chiclayo. Now I promote ACN in Peru”Hello, my name is Santiago, and a few years ago I was an altar server in the parish of Saint Martin of Porres, Chiclayo, and I had the blessing of personally meeting the man who is now Pope Leo XIV. (On the …
ACN helps rebuild Church burned down during street protests
The Church of the Assumption was looted in 2019 and set ablaze in 2020. Some stories do have happy endings. On November 8, 2019, during a wave of street protests, several hooded people looted the 143-year-old Church of the Assumption, one of the oldest in Santiago de Chile. The looters made off with artwork and …
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ACN Success Story – Colombia
Two motors to support pastoral work in Guapi The Apostolic Vicariate of Guapi lies in the far south-west of Colombia, near the Pacific Ocean. The population here is mainly a mixture of Afro-Colombians and Indigenous Peoples. There is extreme poverty and widespread violence, and ever since the 1980s, illegal drug growing and trafficking have flourished, …
“A bridge of love with Peru: ACN’s collaboration with Pope Leo XIV”
The close collaboration between Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and now Pope Leo XIV blazed a trail of service and evangelization in Peru. From the Andes to the Amazon, ACN’s projects carry hope and a pastoral presence to where it is needed most. In this interview, Peruvian Luis Vildoso, who is responsible for …
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ACN Project of the Week – Brazil
Support the training of seminarians in the Diocese of Rio Branco The Diocese of Rio Branco lies in the west of Brazil. Large sections of this area of roughly 103,000 km² are covered in rainforest. A remote region with vast distances and many settlements only accessible via water, it has a population of around 700,000 …
“I was sick and alone, but the sisters took me in”
A priest’s testimony of how religious sisters in Venezuela cared for him until the end Spanish priest Father Alfonso Delgado, who arrived in Venezuela in the seventies with a group of fellow missionaries, gradually found himself alone as the years passed and his companions passed away. However, he found a home among the Sisters of …
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ACN Success Story – Bolivia
A new chapel for a rural parish The parish of Saint Francis Xavier is in a very rural region of the Diocese of San Ignacio de Velasco, in the tropical eastern part of Bolivia. The people here are very poor and live mainly off traditional subsistence farming, and the region is largely undeveloped. Juancito is …
ACN Success Story – Brazil
Renovation and extension of the parish church in Placas There is great rejoicing among the faithful in the parish of Placas, in northern Brazil, in Amazonia. On November 10, 2024, thanks to the help of our wonderful benefactors, who generously donated $107,800, they were able to reopen and solemnly consecrate their new and enlarged parish …