Success Stories
A Chapel for a Village in Indonesia
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A little while ago, we received an appeal for help from Indonesia. The Catholic faithful in the village of Golo Popa on the island of Flores had no church of their own and were forced to gather in the village school on Sundays for Holy Mass. But nevertheless, many faithful came. However, on weekdays, when the school was in use for teaching, they had nowhere to gather to pray and worship, for baptisms, weddings, or other Church activities. Parish priest ...
Renovation of a Convent for Sisters in São Tomé and Príncipe
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The Portuguese-speaking country of São Tomé and Príncipe is the second-smallest nation in Africa. It consists of two principal islands and lies just off the West Coast of the continent. Most of the population of this crisis-ridden nation, whose economy is overwhelmingly dependent on tourism and agriculture, lives in poverty. Since almost everything has to be imported, prices are very high. About 70 percent of its population of approximately 220,000 people are aged 30 or under, and offering them a ...
A New Village Chapel in Madagascar
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Ankililoaka Mission is located in a remote and underdeveloped rural region of southwest Madagascar and is run by the Salesian Fathers. The people here have only recently encountered the Gospel for the first time, and their numbers are now growing. “The efforts of many years are finally beginning to bear fruit,” writes Father Charles Armand Randimbisoa, their parish priest. Again and again, the people of other villages who have found their way to the Catholic faith are appealing to the ...
A Holy Year Pilgrimage of Hope for 51 Young People from the Holy Land
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For the Holy Year 2025, you helped 51 young people from the Holy Land to join with the Universal Church as “Pilgrims of Hope,” visiting Italy and Rome. “In every church we visitedin Italy, we prayed for the benefactors of ACN, whose sacrifices and whose faith made this pilgrimage possible,” the young people subsequently wrote. Among the places they visited were Rome, Assisi, and Padua. Katia, from Zababdeh on the Palestinian West Bank, summarized her impressions: “I have never had ...
A Vehicle for Sisters in Venezuela
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For many years now, Venezuela has been going through an unparalleled crisis. About 80 percent of its people are living in poverty today, and the less fortunate ones, who don’t have relatives abroad to send money home from time to time, sometimes struggle even to eat. But in the Diocese of Carora, the sisters of the Missionary Association of Jesus and Mary are bringing help and hope to the poorest people. They have given a new home to 30 girls ...
Host-Baking Equipment for the Carmelite Sisters in Kenya
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Since 1999, there has been a Carmelite convent in the Diocese of Machakos, in southern Kenya, and over the years, it has been blessed with numerous vocations. It has 26 sisters today, not only from Kenya but from many other countries, including Spain, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Tanzania. The principal vocation of the contemplative religious is prayer. At the same time, they strive to support themselves by the work of their own hands, including through the baking of hosts and ...