March 15 2025 marked the tenth anniversary of the death of Akash Bashir, a 20-year-old Catholic who sacrificed his life to save hundreds of people when he intercepted a suicide bomber trying to access the church of Saint John, in Youhanabad, in the Diocese of Lahore, Pakistan. That act led to his being raised to …
The murder of seminarian Andrew Peter follows the recent killing of Fr Sylvester Okechukwu. Nigeria has had three times more kidnappings of clergy and religious in the first three months of 2025 than in the same period of 2024. (Cover photo: Pray to Christ on the cross for the suffering Church in Nigeria. Add your …
Continue reading “Nigerian Church in pain as 21-year-old seminarian murder”
Since 2021, at least one pastoral agent has been murdered every year in the Diocese of Kafanchan. The bishop of the Diocese of Kafanchan in Kaduna State, Nigeria, has expressed his “deep sorrow and righteous indignation” over the abduction and subsequent murder of one of his priests. Fr. Sylvester Okechukwu was abducted from his residence …
Continue reading “Sorrow and indignation over murder of Nigerian priest”
A newly constructed presbytery for a young parish The parish of Chondonpara in the Diocese of Tura in eastern India is still very new, having only been founded in October 2024. The new presbytery was inaugurated at the same time, thanks to the generosity of our benefactors, who donated $60,000 for this purpose. They celebrated …
Press release – For Immediate Release Königstein-Montreal, March 10, 2023 – Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) expresses its deep concern over the escalating violence in Syria, particularly in the coastal region, where hundreds of civilians have fallen victim to indiscriminate attacks. The situation has created an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty, also for …
Help for the training of 13 seminarians There are over 120 Redemptoris Mater seminaries around the world. They were established by Pope Saint John Paul II to promote the new evangelization. Young men from many different countries and nationalities pursue their vocations to the priesthood in these seminaries today. The particular feature of the seminaries is …
Sr. Marie: “We have seen plenty of improvement in these girls. They find meaning, and they can face the challenges life has for them.” On International Women’s Day, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) spoke to Sister Marie Akl, a religious from the Congregation of the Good Shepherd, about her valuable work in the …
Continue reading “In Lebanon, religious sisters help vulnerable girls rebuild their lives.”
A total of five priests and two religious sisters have been kidnapped in Nigeria this year alone. Besides Fr. Sylvester Okechukwu, who was murdered, two remain missing, while the other four were released. (Cover photo: A destroyed crucifix in Burkina Faso, a country where the security situation for Christians is challenging too.) A Catholic priest …
An all-terrain vehicle for the Diocese of Bangassou Since June 2024, Italian Carmelite Father Aurelio Gazzera has been coadjutor bishop in the Diocese of Bangassou, a particularly difficult region in the southeast of the Central African Republic. This vast area of almost 135,000 km² is almost half the size of Italy and large parts of …
Continue reading “ACN Project of the Week – Central African Republic”
Gaza is currently experiencing a fragile peace, but a visiting delegation from Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) found that the situation in the West Bank has not improved for Christians, who must struggle to find reasons to hope in the future. It takes around 20 minutes to drive from Ein ‘Arik to Ben …
Continue reading “West Bank: “Honestly? The ceasefire has made the situation even worse””
