The hundredth anniversary of the beatification of the North American Martyrs offers an opportunity to reflect on their witness and legacy, echoing Tertullian’s timeless statement, “The blood of martyrs is the seed of the Church.” These martyrs, also known as the Canadian Martyrs, were beatified in 1925 and canonized in 1930. They include Saints Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brebeuf, Rene Goupil, Jean de La Lande, and others who were killed in the 1640s in what is now Canada and New ...

President Andrzej Duda thanked ACN for its “unwavering dedication” to serving those most in need.  The Polish national office of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) was singled out for a special distinction by the country’s president, during a ceremony that was held in Warsaw on May 21, as part of the commemoration of Humanitarian Aid Day in Poland.   President Andrzej Duda hosted a number of organizations at the Presidential Palace, distributing state decorations and national emblems and flags ...

The Church of the Assumption was vandalized and set on fire in 2020.  Some stories do have happy endings. On November 8, 2019, during a wave of street protests, several hooded people looted the 143-year-old Church of the Assumption, one of the oldest in Santiago de Chile. The looters made off with artwork and holy images and used confessionals and pews to build barricades in the streets.  One year later, on October 18, 2020, an arson attack completely destroyed the ...

A priest coming back from a memorial service for two slain clergymen shot and injured. A farmer gunned down on his own farm. Three members of a family killed, and the mother left seriously injured. They are just three examples of the “horror” people are enduring in the Middle Belt of Nigeria, according to a local priest. This past weekend, a series of brutal attacks on communities left at least 36 people dead, with several others injured or abducted, according ...

For three months, Gaza received no aid convoys, which meant that the Holy Family parish had to ration its resources to feed the Christians within and some of the families that live nearby.  The situation in Gaza, in the Holy Land, continues to be “very bad,” according to Father Gabriel Romanelli, who is responsible for the only Catholic parish in the territory.    When the current war in Gaza broke out, the entire Christian population took refuge in the Holy Family ...

On the occasion of the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents, and the Elderly in Rome (May 30–June 1), the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is launching a special edition of its emblematic Child’s Bible, a classic in children’s catechesis that has accompanied millions of families all over the world since it was first published in 1979. During one of the main events of the Jubilee, the Family Festival and Prayer Vigil on May 31, ACN will ...