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 …
Tag archives: Persecuted Christians
Catholic University in Erbil is celebrating ten years: Bravo!
Ten years of bringing hope and fostering coexistence in Iraq In 2014, Yohana Al-Zebbaree was a pre-teen boy from a Chaldean Catholic family living in the northern Iraqi city of Duhok when jihadists from the Islamic State (IS) overran Mosul and began expanding their control over large parts of northern Iraq. “I remember the night …
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Aid to the Church in Need denounces new massacre in Ntoyo
The situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo is deteriorating. International Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) expresses its deep concern and solidarity with the families of the victims of a brutal attack carried out on September 8 and 9 in Ntoyo, in the parish of Saint Joseph of …
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“No one can silence the voice or erase the love of the martyrs,” says Pope
Aid to the Church in Need International executive president Regina Lynch says the organization is proud to support those who are persecuted or even make the ultimate sacrifice for their faith. (Cover: Mosaic in the heart of St. Paul out of the Walls, representing Jesus-Christ and the apostles St. Peter and St. Paul). Pope Leo XIV …
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Memory of the Martyrs: The Vatican Shares the Stories of 1,624 Christians murdered for Their Faith
An ecumenical memorial tribute will be held this Sunday in Rome, but the names will not be released at this time. (Banner photo: some of the victims of the church attacks in Pakistan in March 2015). A Vatican commission comprising historians, theologians, and other experts has documented the stories of over 1,600 men and women …
The young girl who fled from Iraq and met the Pope
Harshly persecuted for her faith, Sofia ended up finding solace in God and the strength to forgive those who forced her from her country and nearly killed her several times. On August 6, 2014, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi Christians had to leave everything behind and escape their homeland, as terrorists from the Islamic State …
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Pakistan: Two years on, justice still not done
Two years after an atrocity described as the worst outbreak of violence against Christians in Pakistan’s 78-year history, the local bishop of the district has said that not one of the thousands of suspects has been brought to justice – and that he and his people are furious. Bishop Indrias Rehmat said Christians in …
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Nigeria – “People are protesting” after three more murders
On Monday, August 11, women and children in Benue State, Nigeria, blocked a road in protest at the lack of security after their besieged town fell victim to yet another fatal attack. Three people were killed, and three others were critically injured in Yelewata, Benue State, on Monday, at around 8 a.m. The town, which …
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Religious robbed, held at gunpoint, and threatened with decapitation
The Mercedarian Sisters were the second congregation to suffer an armed robbery in a matter of days, as the violence in northern Mozambique steadily worsens. (Archive: Mercedarian Sisters, including some from the convent that was attacked). Almost a month ago, on June 8, the Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, in the Diocese of Pemba, …
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Brazil: Aparecida’s bag full of miracles
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 …