Our Mission
We support the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in need, through information, prayer and action
Our guidelines
Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) operates under a set of core guidelines that direct its mission to support persecuted and oppressed Christians worldwide.
1.
Faith and Christian love
2.
Prayer
3.
Pastoral Commitment
4.
Unity
5.
Service
6.
Opennes
7.
Accountability
8.
Trust
Our organisational structure
Our goal is to effectively fulfill mission of supporting persecuted and oppressed Christians worldwide
The organization structure:
Mauro Cardinal Piacenza
Regina Lynch
Ferdinand Habsburg
Guido Gröning
Father Anton Lässer, CP
Marco Mencaglia
Mark von Riedemann
Supervisory Board:
Chaired by President Mauro Cardinal Piacenza, this board is responsible for establishing the fundamental content and guidelines of the charity.
Administrative Council:
Led by the Executive President, this council ensures the statutory management of the charity on behalf of the Supervisory Board.
General Council:
Composed of presidents from ACN’s 23 National Sections, this council advises the foundation and votes on significant decisions made by the Supervisory Board.
International Ecclesiastical Assistant:
In collaboration with Ecclesiastical Assistants from the National Sections, this role oversees the spiritual life of the foundation.
General Secretariat:
Located in Königstein, Germany, the Secretariat centrally manages funding activities and the financial, technical, and administrative needs of the foundation. It also supports National Sections by providing media materials and producing press, social media content, and audio-visual productions.
National Sections:
ACN operates 23 National Sections that inform benefactors and the public about the situations and needs of suffering Christians. They initiate prayer campaigns, acquire new donors, and maintain relationships with benefactors.
Facts and figures
In 2024, we were able to support 5,335 projects worldwide.
In 2024, we received 7,296 applications for aid from all over the world. Thanks to the generosity of our benefactors, we collected donations of 139.3 million euros.
By adding reserves of 2.2 million euros from previous years we have been able to fund activities amounting to 141.5 million euros. As can be seen in the diagram, by far the largest share of our expenditure was devoted to mission-related expenses, i.e. concrete project work, information and prayer activities.
As always, the proportion of necessary expenditures for administration and fundraising was comparatively low, so that as many funds as possible could reach local Christians. In 2024, we supported a total of 5,335 projects in 137 countries with approximately 95.6 million euros. 17.3 million euros were used for proclamation of the faith, information work and advocacy for disadvantaged and persecuted Christians worldwide.
At 30.2 million euros, or 21.7% of our revenues, bequests made up a significant part of our support for the Church in 2024. Together with our brothers and sisters in need, we therefore not only thank our living benefactors, but also gratefully remember those who support us beyond death.
23
359,920
143,737,504
359,920
2024
Our focal points in the 2024 reporting year.
In 2024, we increased our support for the training of priests and religious (16.4 percent) and lay people (11.8 percent), which has always been one of our priorities, to a total of 28.2 percent, representing more than a quarter of our total aid.
At 23.6 percent, projects for the construction, reconstruction or renovation of churches and church buildings also accounted for more than a quarter of our
funding.
By providing Mass stipends for priests (17.2 percent) and subsistence aid for religious sisters (6.7 percent), we were once again able to help secure their livelihoods in 2024. A total of 23.9% of our funding was earmarked for these projects.
In addition, we are active in acute crises with emergency aid measures for the su”ering population. In 2024, such emergency aid in areas where Christians are threatened by violence and displacement accounted for 10.7% of our total aid.
» The starting point for our aid is a close dialogue with local churches. «
At 30.2%, Africa was once again the priority region for our aid projects in 2024. The situation is particularly dramatic in places where Islamist terror is spreading and Christians are victims of persecution and displacement, such as in Mozambique, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. At the same time, the number of faithful and vocations to the priesthood and religious orders continues to rise.
18.7% of our aid was devoted to Asia (including 0.9% for Oceania), where Christians form a minority in most countries and are discriminated against or even persecuted. For example, we increased the level of our aid to Pakistan.
The funding volume for the Middle East represented 17.5% of our total aid. The focal points in 2024 continued to be Syria and Lebanon. By providing emergency aid and strengthening pastoral care, our aim is to help ensure the survival of Christian communities and counteract the massive exodus of Christians.
Latin America accounted for 16.8% of our total aid, as rural exodus, migration, sects and governments hostile to the Church are major challenges here.
In 2024, we continued to receive a large number of requests for support from Ukraine, where the Church, in the midst of war, is trying to alleviate the spiritual, psychological and material needs of those who have fled and are in need. Therefore, in 2024, 8.9% ofour funds went to Ukraine. Our aid for Europe totalled 15.9%.
Our history
Ever since its earliest days we’ve been geared towards charity and reconciliation
With the support of our benefactors, we will remain true to this spirit in future with a view to helping the Church where its believers are threatened most by persecution, discrimination and poverty.
1947
At Pope Pius XII’s request, Father Werenfried van Straaten founds ACN (then “Aid to the Eastern Priests”) at the Premonstratensian monastery in Tongerlo, Belgium. In a unique reconciliation campaign, donations are collected in Belgium and the Netherlands for displaced Germans, including 3,000 priests.
1950
To provide pastoral care to displaced Germans, 35 buses and trucks are converted into “chapels on wheels” as part of the highly original “chapel truck campaign”.
1952
ACN comes to the aid of persecuted Christians behind the “Iron Curtain”. The projects range from helping to renovate churches and train priests to funding radio broadcasts and the book apostolate.
1956
After the bloody suppression of the Hungarian uprising against the Stalinist system, ACN helps the local Church get through the crisis.
1961
We launch our aid projects for the beleaguered Church in Asia. Following this, the first meeting between Father Werenfried and Mother Teresa takes place in the Home for the Dying in Calcutta.
1962
We step up our aid for persecuted and threatened Catholics in the “Catholic continent” of Latin America.
1965
Petitions also reach us from the Church in Africa, which we proceed to assist with the same commitment as on other continents.
1966
ACN is consecrated to Our Lady of Fatima. The following year, a large international pilgrimage takes place to mark the 50th anniversary of the apparitions.
1970
We launch our aid campaign to assist the Church in Haiti, one of the world’s poorest countries.
1975
ACN relocates its international headquarters from Rome to Königstein/Taunus.
1979
With the Children’s Bible, we launch a major project for boosting evangelisation efforts worldwide. To date, the book has been translated into 191 languages and printed and distributed over 51 million times.
1984
ACN is recognised by the Holy See as a Universal Public Association of Pontifical Right.
1989
Following the political turning point in Eastern Europe, ACN provides aid for reconstruction and new evangelisation in the former Eastern bloc countries.
1992
By order of Pope John Paul II, our aid organisation begins to work towards a dialogue between the Catholic Church and the Russian Orthodox Church.
1997
The 50th anniversary of ACN’s efforts on behalf of the Church in need worldwide – an occasion that is celebrated fittingly.
2003
Father Werenfried van Straaten, founder of our aid organisation, dies on 31 January at the age of 90 in his place of residence, Bad Soden/Taunus.
2007
The Middle East conflict causes more and more difficulties for the Church in the region, prompting Pope Benedict XVI to ask ACN to intensify its activities for Christians in the Middle East.
2011
An eventful year for ACN: our aid organisation is re-founded as a Foundation of Pontifical Right by Pope Benedict XVI and subsequently restructured. When the Syrian war breaks out, ACN begins extensive aid and solidarity campaigns, including the “Light a Candle for Peace in Syria” initiative.
2014
ACN initiates an emergency campaign to allow Christians in Iraq to remain in their homeland. The project is still going strong to this day, with more than 5,000 houses having already been renovated. ACN also becomes the sole shareholder of the YOUCAT Foundation and therefore its publisher. The work is very popular in Catholic youth work all over the world, with translations into no fewer than 58 languages. ACN opens its first Asian office in South Korea. This is followed by further offices in Mexico, Malta, Colombia, Slovakia and the Philippines up until 2019.
2017
To mark the 70th anniversary of our aid organisation, ACN invites benefactors from all over the world on a pilgrimage to the shrine of Fatima in Portugal. In the same year, Aid to the Church in Need assumes responsibility for the annual One Million Children Praying the Rosary campaign.
2019
With the Safeguarding project, ACN is helping the church to introduce measures to prevent abuse and is encouraging safeguarding courses for priests and religious worldwide.
2020
Our foundation helps the Church worldwide in their efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic and grants special assistance to cushion the impact of the coronavirus crisis for local churches. Following the explosion in Beirut’s harbour, ACN is launching a major aid campaign for Lebanon.
2022
Immediately after the start of the war in Ukraine, our aid organisation launches a large-scale relief operation to enable the local church to assist those who had fled their homes, suffering people and to continue pastoral care.
