The Holy Father receives Aid to the Church in Need in private audience
This morning, October 10, 2025, His Holiness Pope Leo XIV received Pontifical Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International in a private audience at the Vatican, marking 25 years of the charity’s continued mission to defend the right to religious freedom and to give a voice to Christians who suffer for their faith around the world.
At the far left in the photo: Marie-Claude Lalonde, National Director of Aid to the Church in Need Canada.
The delegation was led by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, President of ACN International, and Regina Lynch, its Executive President.
Also present were leading members of ACN International together with representatives from many national offices, as well as leadership from the Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025’s Editorial Committee.
During the audience, the Holy Father addressed members of the charity with deep gratitude for their mission and steadfast commitment to persecuted Christians.
Marie-Claude Lalonde, National Director of ACN Canada, was part of the delegation. “Our meeting with Pope Leo XIV was very warm and moving,” she said. “Like Pope Francis, he truly cares about the situation of persecuted Christians who are deprived of religious freedom around the world. His support is significant in this mission to remind the world that religious freedom is a human right, not a privilege,” she added.
“The new report, which will be released on October 21, unfortunately, reminds us that the overall situation is worsening—including in Western countries,” she concluded.
“We remember them, we stand with them”
In his address, Pope Leo XIV spoke powerfully about the importance of religious freedom and the Church’s duty to defend it wherever it is threatened.
“Your visit is timely, for our world continues to witness rising hostility and violence against those who hold different convictions, including many Christians. In contrast, your mission proclaims that, as one family in Christ, we do not abandon our persecuted brothers and sisters. Rather, we remember them, we stand with them, and we labour to secure their God-given freedoms.”
The Holy Father underlined that “the right to religious freedom is not optional but essential,” describing it as “a cornerstone of any just society, for it safeguards the moral space in which conscience may be formed and exercised.”
He reminded that this freedom is not merely a political concession:
“Religious freedom, therefore, is not merely a legal right or a privilege granted to us by governments; it is a foundational condition that makes authentic reconciliation possible.”
Pope Leo XIV also recalled the origins of Aid to the Church in Need:
“It was from this conviction that your organization was born. Founded in 1947 in response to the immense suffering left in the wake of war, its mission from the beginning has been to foster forgiveness and reconciliation, and to accompany and give a voice to the Church wherever she is in need, wherever she is threatened, wherever she suffers.”
The Holy Father also highlighted the tangible expression of ACN’s mission across the world — a mission that turns faith into action through countless projects — and expressed his gratitude for the support he himself received in the Diocese of Chiclayo, in Peru: “Your commitment also extends to supporting the Church’s mission across the world by reaching communities that are too often isolated, marginalized or under pressure. Wherever Aid to the Church in Need rebuilds a chapel, supports a religious sister, or provides for a radio station or a vehicle, you strengthen the life of the Church, as well as the spiritual and moral fabric of society.
He praised ACN’s Religious Freedom in the World Report as “a powerful instrument for raising awareness… [that] bears witness, gives voice to the voiceless, and reveals the hidden suffering of many.”
From left to right, some members of the Editorial Committee: Maria Lozano, Marta Petrosillo – Editor-in-Chief – and Mark Von Riedemann.
The pope concluded with a message of encouragement: “Do not grow weary of doing good (cf. Gal 6:9), for your service bears fruit in countless lives and gives glory to our Father in heaven… May the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope, remain close to you and to all who suffer.”
Presentation of the Religious Freedom Report 2025
During the audience, ACN presented to the Holy Father the first advance copy of its forthcoming Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025, which will be officially launched on October 21 in Rome. The report, covering 196 countries and extending to more than 1,000 pages, documents the current state of religious freedom and persecution worldwide.
A gift from Syria: An Icon of Hope
As a symbol of hope and faith enduring through suffering, Regina Lynch presented the Holy Father with an icon made from the wood of the destroyed ceiling of the Maronite Cathedral of Saint Elias in Aleppo. The cathedral, severely damaged during the conflict in Syria, was later restored with the support of Aid to the Church in Need and reopened on July 20, 2020, the feast of its patron saint.
The icon represents the resilience of Christian communities in the Middle East and the renewal of faith amid devastation — a testimony to the mission at the heart of Aid to the Church in Need: to accompany the persecuted and to rebuild the Church where it suffers.
