While many Christian families have fled to safer areas, priests and religious stay to minister to those who remain to look after their homes or are too old or frail to relocate, ACN is helping with food packages and medical assistance, as well as access to online education for students in Catholic schools in the area.

Maria Antónia Cabral uses only recycled material to produce traditional Portuguese devotional images which clients buy to give as gifts. All proceeds go to support Christians through Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

Since 1968, the Church has celebrated 1 January, the feast day of Mary, Mother of God, as the “International Day of Peace”. That year, Pope Paul VI called on everybody to unite for this one purpose, expressing the Catholic Church’s wish of “dedicating to thoughts and resolutions of Peace a special observance on the first day of the civil year”.

Regina Lynch, executive president of Aid to the Church in Need, highlights the worrying increase in religious freedom violations around the world but also the positive reaction to ACN campaigns such as Red Wednesday and One Million Children Praying the Rosary.

How a little ray of hope brightened the darkness for a family in Damascus during Christmas

With the world’s eyes on Gaza, few are aware that the Palestinians in the West Bank are also suffering the social and economic effects of the war in the Holy Land. Aid to the Church in Need has been accompanying Christians in the Holy Land since the very beginning of the war.

Two women were shot dead by snipers in the church grounds of the Catholic Holy Family parish in Gaza City on December 16, according to a press release by the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, sent to the international charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Seven other people were injured. On the same day, several projectiles hit the convent of the Missionaries of Charity, which is in the same compound and housed more than 50 people with disabilities.

The head of the Catholic Church in Ukraine met with Aid to the Church in Need to discuss the country's challenges.

Christmas can be a difficult time for poor families who cannot buy gifts for their children. In Lebanon, an ACN-funded project aims to provide gifts for poor families and bring joy and hope to families.

This year, 35,000 children in Syria and 10,000 in Lebanon will receive Christmas presents and urgently needed clothing. Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is sending over half a million euros to these two countries to bring joy to the children on Christmas Eve and show them they are not forgotten.

As the war rages on, ACN helps save lives in the Holy Land.

With the support of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the Academy of Catholic Leaders aims to train people to assume political responsibilities.

During an interview at the international headquarters of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga from the Diocese of Bangui spoke about the attitude that a Christian must have in the face of suffering as well as towards brothers in need. He also shared his experiences of the Synod on Synodality, which took place in Rome this October.

During a conversation with the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Bishop Marco Antonio Cortez of the Diocese of Tacna y Moquegua, Peru, spoke about projects related to religious communities and the need to reach everyone in a country where the lack of vocations and missionaries is a constant concern, especially in the more remote regions.

A bomb detonated on Sunday, 3 December, during a Catholic mass in the Public University of Mindanao, in the city of Marawi, in southern Philippines. Local sources say that the explosion took the lives of at least four faithful, leaving over 40 injured. The attack was claimed from Islamabad by a group affiliated with the Islamic State.

Margaret Attah, who lost both her legs in an attack on a church in western Nigeria, travelled to London to receive the award, presented by the UK Office of Aid to the Church in Need.

Fr Ha-Jo was aware of the risks to his safety by continuing to work in Mali. Still, he persisted, driven by a desire to improve the situation for the country overall and to remain with his small Christian community. Hans-Joachim Lohre, known affectionately as Fr Ha-Jo, disappeared in Bamako, Mali, on 20 November 2022. He had over 30 years of experience in Mali. His car was found abandoned, and the cross he normally carried was on the floor.

In March 2023, Fr Jacques Mourad, a former hostage of Islamist terrorists, was appointed Syriac Catholic Archbishop of Homs in Syria. Recently, he hosted a delegation from the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) and spoke about his country's current challenges, forgiveness, and a trusting dedication to God.

A decade-and-a-half ago Archbishop Sebastian Shaw found much scepticism and little interest in dialogue from Muslim leaders. After years of building trust, he says that the Islamic leaders themselves are now taking the initiative to speak up for persecuted Christians.