The Christian community in Gaza is facing the most difficult period since the beginning of the war.

On 23 February 2024, Pope Francis appointed Father Aurelio Gazzera, a long-time friend and partner of ACN, Coadjutor Bishop of the diocese of Bangassou, in the Central African Republic. The 61-year-old Italian Carmelite priest has already worked for 33 years as a missionary in the country, which is repeatedly plagued by violence and unrest.

On International Women’s Day, 8 March, ACN highlights brave wives, sisters, mothers and religious who are helping keep faith and hope alive in war-torn Ukraine.

An attack in the diocese of Dori, on Sunday 25 February, was just the latest in a string of terror strikes in Burkina Faso. Faced with persecution, the Church responds with charity and hope.

ACN International Executive President Regina Lynch: “Guaranteeing the right to practice the faith is crucial, as a component of the dignity of every human being.”

The Bishop of Pemba says the situation caused by the jihadist insurgency is at its worst point but fears that worse may still be to come.

The President of Pakistan’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Bishop Samson Shukardin, has welcomed a Supreme Court decision to reject a government report into the authorities’ response to the attacks in Jaranwala last August described by Church leaders as the “worst incident against Christians” in the nation’s history.

Christians residing in the West Bank and Jerusalem are being confronted with a dire situation as the war in Gaza and escalating tensions between Israelis and Palestinians continue to take their toll, according to recent information received by the international foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN).

Ten years after the beginning of the war in Ukraine, ACN will dedicate its 2024 Lent campaign to standing by the suffering Church in the country and helping it bring God’s healing love.

Missionaries, priests and religious sisters have been forced to flee from remote towns and villages to Pemba and other large cities, which are overwhelmed with displaced people.

The Church in Patagonia faces unique challenges, marked by vast distances, remarkable diversity and lack of resources. One of the bishops overseeing the Church's development in this vast territory of Argentina is Mgr Roberto Álvarez, who sat down with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) to share his dreams and difficulties.

According to sources contacted by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the humanitarian situation and living conditions for the small Christian community which remains in the Gaza Strip have deteriorated over the past months. In the four months since the beginning of the conflict, thirty Christians have died in Gaza.

The international charity Aid to the Church in Need has stepped up the provision of aid to the Sahel region following a deterioration of the security situation there over many years. Despite persecution, the number of Christians in the region is increasing.

The pilgrimage was instituted in 1884 by Fr Machado, the Venezuelan priest in the Diocese of La Guaira, after returning from a trip to the famous shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes in France. Tony Pereira, a lay member of the current organising committee, spoke to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) about the origins and the importance of this devotion.

On the first anniversary of the earthquake, a bishop in Aleppo calls for an end to sanctions and appeals to people not to forget the country.

A Pakistani archbishop painted a harrowing picture of the suffering of Christian families after last year’s riots and stressed the importance of interfaith dialogue in Westminster (29 January).

In the Archdiocese of Tripoli, Lebanon, where Christians now make up only two per cent of the population, the Church is actively promoting interreligious dialogue with Muslims, said the Maronite Archbishop of Tripoli, Mgr Youssef Soueif. During a meeting with a visiting delegation from the Pontifical Foundation Aid to the Church in Need, he spoke about the challenges the economic situation in the country poses to the archdiocese.

Pope Francis has said that the real treasure of Myanmar is its people. As civil conflict worsens, Aid to the Church in Need supports the repeated calls of the local Catholic Church for peace and justice, not only for Christians but for all citizens in the country.

"Vehicles for God" was the motto of a fundraising campaign initiated by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) three-quarters of a century ago. The aim was to procure motorcycles and cars that would be used to administer pastoral care in remote areas. In this interview, Regina Lynch, Executive President of ACN, talks about the beginnings and development of this special form of aid, which is as relevant today as it was back then.