Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) looks forward to continued collaboration with new pope
Königstein im Taunus / Montreal – The international Catholic charity supported projects in the dioceses run by then Bishop Prevost in Peru, and more recently continued to collaborate with him in his capacity as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Executive President of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, Regina Lynch, and National Director of ACN Canada, Marie-Claude Lalonde, are among ACN staff present in Rome for the charity’s May 6-15 pilgrimage, which happened to coincide with a pivotal moment in the history of the Catholic Church.
“I’m delighted at the swift election of a new pope, and I’m sure that he will be attentive to the work of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), just as we will be attentive to the major areas of pastoral care and ensure that we support them throughout the world with our project partners. Last but not least, we pray for him,” says Marie-Claude Lalonde.
Regina Lynch expresses her gratitude for the election of the new pope, and warmly recalls the fruitful collaboration between the organization and Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV.
ACN supported several projects in the dioceses which were administered by Cardinal Prevost during his ministry in Peru, namely as apostolic administrator and then bishop of Chiclayo, and also apostolic administrator of Callao. When a new bishop was named for Callao, then Bishop Prevost wrote a kind message to ACN thanking it for its cooperation in serving the population, “especially in the poorest areas of our dioceses,” and asking that “God bless the work carried out by Aid to the Church in Need.”
ACN’s partnership with Bishop Prevost continued after he was moved to Rome by Pope Francis, when he became president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, within the Dicastery for Bishops.
ACN has had a good collaboration with the commission for several years now, and recently liaised closely with Cardinal Prevost’s office when it hosted the Latin America and Caribbean Meeting for Synodal Cooperation, between March 10 and 14, held under the aegis of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America, the Latin-American Bishops Council (CELAM), and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, aimed at strengthening synodal cooperation between a variety of institutions and organizations that work for international collaboration in the region.
On receiving news of Cardinal Prevost’s election to the papacy, Regina Lynch expressed her “joy with the fact that the new pope is a missionary, with over 20 years of experience in the field, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
“ACN is proud to be able to say that it contributed to the bishop’s missionary efforts in Peru. We are committed to continue our work in the service of Christian communities all over the world in unity with Pope Leo XIV, as we have done with his seven immediate predecessors,” says the executive president.
Pope Leo XIV was elected on May 8, 2025, after a two-day conclave held after the death of Pope Francis. Born Robert Francis Prevost in Chicago, the new pope, who was ordained within the Order of Saint Augustine, spent most of his ministry in Peru, including serving as apostolic administrator and then bishop in the country between 2014 and 2023. Before he returned to Peru as a bishop, he spent a decade in Rome as head of the religious order, returning in 2023 as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops.
Aid to the Church in Need has served the poor and persecuted Christians of the world since 1947. In 2011, it was raised by Pope Benedict XVI to the status of pontifical charity, thereby strengthening its connection to the successor of Peter and Vicar of Christ.
