Ferdinand Habsburg appointed Secretary General

Ferdinand Habsburg joins ACN International as Secretary General following a successful and international career in the media and education sector. Pontifical Charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International has announced the appointment of Mr. Ferdinand Habsburg as Secretary General. The appointment was formally made by Executive President Regina Lynch on January 13, in …

Four years of ACN support in war-torn Ukraine

The generosity of countless Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) benefactors, from Canada and elsewhere in the world, has helped keep the Church in Ukraine alive and ready to continue helping those suffering most from the full-scale invasion of 2022. When the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022, millions of people …

Amid a fragile respite, an urgent plea from Gaza before Christmas

The Catholic parish in Gaza prepares for Advent during an unstable ceasefire. From the heart of the devastated city, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli of the Holy Family parish describes a disastrous sanitary situation and a day-to-day existence marked by a scarcity of means for rebuilding. The parish priest calls on the international community to pray for …

Archbishop Mourad: “The Church in Syria is dying. There is no freedom, religious or otherwise”

The end of Christianity in Syria would be a great loss, because “the Church stands as a reminder to everyone of the ethics of justice and human dignity as a supreme value.” Syriac Catholic Archbishop Jacques Mourad of Homs, Hama and Nabk was recently in Rome as one of those to take part in the …

Rome to host official launch of Religious Freedom Report 2025

Religious and public leaders will gather on October 21 at the Pontifical Patristic Institute Augustinianum in Rome for the worldwide presentation of the latest edition of the Religious Freedom Report (RFR) 2025, prepared by the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). The program will include the participation of Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican …

Five years after devastating port blast, Lebanon struggles between trauma and hope

Five years have passed since one of the most devastating moments in Lebanon’s recent history—the Beirut port explosion of August 4, 2020. The blast killed over 200 people, injured more than 7,000, and left entire neighbourhoods in ruins. Around 300,000 people were left homeless. Yet amid the trauma and hardship, many Lebanese cling to faith, …

DR Congo: Church condemns massacre of young Christians in Komanda and calls for justice

Bishop of Bunia: “We need support for displaced priests.” Following the brutal attack carried out on the night of July 26-27 in the town of Komanda, in the northeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the local Church has raised its voice in condemnation and pain. The attack, which occurred at around two …

Dozens killed in another church massacre in DR Congo

Militants stormed the church during an early morning prayer vigil, killing approximately 40 people with guns and machetes. At least 40 people, including many children, were killed in a massacre in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the early hours of Sunday, July 27. The attack took place in the east of the country, …

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) echoes urgent plea by Father Gabriel and Cardinal Pizzaballa following attack on Gaza Catholic Church

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has received a new and moving testimony from Gaza, following the July 17 attack on the Catholic church of the Holy Family, which left three people dead and more than ten wounded. Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest of the local Catholic community, sent a message directly to …

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) distributing 10,000 free copies of YOUCAT Confession to participants of the Jubilee of Youth in Rome

A gift to young pilgrims: the Sacrament of Reconciliation as a way to conversion. The Circus Maximus in Rome will be hosting one of the greatest catechetical initiatives of the Holy Year next Friday, August 1, during the Youth Jubilee, with the distribution of 10,000 free copies of a special edition of the YOUCAT Confession …