More than 14,500 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Africa. The virus has cost the lives of almost 800 people there. Public institutions such as churches and schools are closed in numerous countries on the continent. Many Africans do not have access to the Internet or to television, and the radio remains the best...
ACN tribute to brave Bishop who ministered in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain A Bishop, who died on Easter Sunday after a lifetime of ministry in some of the most difficult places in which to be a Christian, has been praised for his “courageous and dynamic apostolate in the heart of Islam”. Comboni Missionary...
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith of Colombo, Sri Lanka has celebrated this year’s Easter Mass with a call to forgive and say no to selfishness which he said “could have been the response as human beings” but thanks to the Christian faith, Sri Lankans “paid attention to the message of Christ and loved those enemies who killed...
To help mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the international pontifical charity serving the persecuted and suffering Church around the world, is providing €5M in emergency funding to priests and nuns caring for the most vulnerable communities around the world. In the face of increased social distress...
As a pastoral response to the Corona Virus pandemic, Aid to the Church in Need has embarked on a massive prayer action involving 35 contemplative orders around the world. This special prayer action which takes the form of a “prayer chain” with contemplative monasteries to pray for, to comfort and encourage our family of partners and...
In the wake of the Coronavirus crisis which is ravaging the world, Christians in Pakistan which has recorded nearly 2,300 confirmed cases of coronavirus with 31 deaths are reportedly being denied the emergency response food aid package by NGOs operating in the port city. According to reports, food vouchers are being refused to members of...
A grassroots coalition is staging join a 24-hour Good Friday prayer marathon for persecuted Christians, to be held online, with the participation of religious leaders from persecuted communities in China, Iraq, Iran, Nigeria, Ethiopia and other countries. To be held via Zoom, the event is set to start at sunrise Jerusalem on Holy Friday and...
An Italian missionary priest Father Pier Luigi Maccalli who was kidnapped in Niger in September 2018 has been seen in a jihadist video, according to a newspaper report, in the first proof of life since his abduction in 2018. The newspaper of the bishops reports that “as a further proof of life, we requested a...
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, many messages from the project partners of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) have reached the Pontifical Foundation in recent days. They express solidarity, encouragement in prayer, thankfulness: Touching expressions from our brothers and sisters. “This brief note is to let you know that we, the monks...
Jihadist groups raise the black flag in Mozambique “What is happening is a disgrace”, the Bishop of Pemba laments, following the most recent attack in his diocese. Last Monday, 23 March, for several hours an armed group of terrorists attacked and occupied the port of Mocímboa da Praia, a town of around 20,000 inhabitants and...
