Pope Leo XIV could have lived a comfortable life as an American growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, and even as an Augustinian priest, but he chose to go to the missions, according to a priest who lived and worked with him for many years. “And that was not an easy thing to do. You leave your parents, your family, and you put yourself at the service of others,” said Augustinian Father Arthur Purcaro, who worked in Peru with ...

The international Catholic charity supported projects in the dioceses run by then-Bishop Prevost in Peru and, more recently, continued to cooperate with him in his capacity as president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.   The executive president of pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Regina Lynch, expresses her gratitude for the election of the new Pope, and warmly recalls the fruitful collaboration between the organization and Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, now Pope Leo XIV.   ACN supported ...

Königstein im Taunus, Germany, 8 May 2025 It was with the greatest joy and gratitude that international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) received news of the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to the Papacy, under the name Leo XIV. The new Pope is no stranger to ACN and to its work: during his mandate as bishop of Chiclayo in Peru from 2015 to 2023, ACN could support him with manifold projects, mostly in the formation ...

As Islamist attacks continue to terrorize the northern district of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, the Church does all it can to help the local people.   The Christian population of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique is suffering greatly from terrorist attacks carried out as part of an Islamist insurgency.   According to a message sent to Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) by Passionist missionary Father Kwiriwi Fonseca, the terrorists have intensified their strikes, causing a new wave of internally displaced ...

White smoke has emerged from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel at the end of the second day of the conclave. A new pope has been elected, and St. Peter’s Square is filling up with people awaiting the appearance of the new Holy Father. Aid to the Church in Need is in the second day of its Jubilee Year pilgrimage to Rome, and Fr. Anton Lässer, ecclesiastical assistant of Aid to the Church in Need, offered initial reaction to the ...

The world is at a difficult and complex turning point in history, a leading cardinal said, as his brother prelates entered the Conclave to elect a successor to Pope Francis. “To pray, by invoking the Holy Spirit, is the only right and proper attitude to take as the cardinal electors prepare to undertake an act of the highest human and ecclesial responsibility and to make a choice of exceptional importance,” said Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, dean of the College of ...