The Catholic parish in Gaza prepares for Christmas during an unstable ceasefire. From the heart of the devastated city, the pastor describes a disastrous sanitary situation and a daily routine marked by a scarcity of means for rebuilding. Christmas is drawing near in the land of Christ’s birth, but preparations are taking place in an atmosphere of disquiet. “The world should know that there are over 2 million people here who have nothing and need everything,” warns Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, ...

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. 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 ...

Lebanon is still recovering from years of conflict and economic turmoil. The Pope’s visit is a sign that the local Church is not forgotten and highlights the country’s unique role in the region. Pope Leo XIV began his first foreign apostolic journey today, November 27, touching down in the capital of Turkey, with plans to mark the 1,700th anniversary of the Ecumenical Council of Nicaea. While Leo’s visits to the key sites of Iznik (Nicaea) and Istanbul highlight ecumenical and ...

Cardinal Kurt Koch has been a friend of ACN for many years and brings with him a wealth of experience in the field of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue. The pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has expressed its gratitude to Pope Leo XIV for the appointment of Cardinal Kurt Koch as its new president. Cardinal Koch, 75, replaces Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, who headed the charity for 14 years as its first President since ACN became a pontifical ...

Catholic Bishops of Nigeria warn of escalating violence and call for urgent action to protect life and religious freedom Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) echoes the urgent appeal of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), which warns of the deepening security crisis in the country and its devastating impact on Christian communities and other vulnerable groups. In a November 25 statement titled “Peace in Nigeria: Moving from Fragility to Stability,” the bishops denounce persistent violence that has ...

With unemployment disproportionately affecting the Christian community, and as a gesture during the Jubilee of Hope, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem (LPJ) decided to cancel student debt in all its schools. Even though Christians are the smallest of the three major faith groups present in the Holy Land, after Jews and Muslims, the Catholic Church runs the largest network of schools in the region. More crucially, though, Catholic schools are unique in the composition of their student bodies and in ...