In Turkey, Pope Leo recognizes Aid to the Church in Need’s assistance after 2023 earthquake

On the second day of his first international voyage, Pope Leo XIV singled out Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) as an example of uniting faith and charity.

Nearly 80% of the old city of Antakya, historically Antioch, was destroyed by the February 2023 earthquake. ACN

In an address during a prayer meeting of bishops, priests, deacons, consecrated persons and pastoral workers at the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit in Istanbul, Pope Leo said on November 28 that the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the ecumenical council that produced the Nicene Creed, is an occasion to reflect on the importance of grasping the essence of the faith and of being Christian.

“Around the Creed, the Church at Nicaea rediscovered its unity,” said Pope Leo, citing his predecessor Pope Francis’ Bull declaring 2025 as a holy year, Spes Non Confundit. “The Creed is not simply a doctrinal formula; it is an invitation to seek — amid different sensibilities, spiritualities and cultures — the unity and essential core of the Christian faith centered on Christ and on the Church’s Tradition. Nicaea still asks us: Who is Jesus for us? What does it essentially mean to be Christian? The Creed, unanimously professed together, becomes a criterion for discernment, a compass, the center around which our beliefs and actions must revolve.”

Mention of “beliefs and actions” prompted the pope to provide a local example of the connection between faith and works.

“I would like to thank the international organizations for their support of the Church’s charitable activities, especially for the help offered to the victims following the earthquake in 2023,” he said. “Here I would single out Caritas Internationalis and Kirche in Not.”

Kirche in Not is the German name of Aid to the Church in Need, a pontifical foundation based at both the Vatican and in Königstein, Germany.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake that hit southern and central Turkey and northern and western Syria on February 6, 2023, caused widespread severe damage and tens of thousands of fatalities.

ACN has funded several projects in Turkey, including the renovation of churches damaged by earthquakes, emergency aid for Christian refugees from the Middle East and Africa, the provision of catechetical material, and the support of seminarians’ formation.

The pope’s mention of ACN in his speech in Turkey comes just a day after the announcement that he appointed a new president for the pontifical foundation. Cardinal Kurt Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and President of the Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, who is in Turkey with the pope, succeeds Cardinal Mauro Piacenza as president of ACN.