Aid to the Church in Need

Aid to the Church in Need (German: Kirche in Not, Italian: Aiuto alla Chiesa che Soffre) is an international Catholic pastoral aid organization, which yearly offers financial support to more than 5,000 projects worldwide.

Aid to the Church in Need
German: Kirche in Not
Aid to the Church in Need logo (2018).
FounderWerenfried van Straaten
Founded atWest Germany
Typepastoral aid organization
Location
Region
International
Cardinal Mauro Piacenza
Parent organization
Catholic Church
Websiteacninternational.org

Aid to the Church in Need's General Secretariat and Project Headquarters is in Königstein, Germany. With 23 national offices, Aid to the Church in Need provides aid to Catholic communities in more than 140 countries around the world.

History

The roots of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) go back to the time after World War II. For the Dutch priest Werenfried van Straaten[1][2] the Stunde Null was the starting point of his life's work. In 1947 he founded Aid to the Eastern Priests, which shortly after became the aid organisation, Aid to the Church in Need. His relief organisation provided food and clothes for East German refugees. The initial goal was to aid refugees who fled or were expelled from Eastern Europe in the wake of the Second World War, many of them Catholic.[1]

During his pontificate, in December 2011, Pope Benedict XVI recognised the importance of Aid to the Church in Need’s work by elevating the charity to a Pontifical Foundation of the Catholic Church. At the same time, the Pope appointed the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, to the position of President of the Foundation.[3][4]

References
  1. "Obituaries: Father Werenfried van Straaten". Daily Telegraph. February 1, 2003. Retrieved September 15, 2015.
  2. Bogle, Joanna (2001). Fr Werenfried: A Life. Gracewing. p. 20. ISBN 978-0852444795.
  3. "Aid to the Church in Need is raised to the status of a Pontifical Foundation by Pope Benedict XVI". www.vietcatholic.net. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
  4. "Pope declares Aid to Church in Need a pontifical foundation". Catholic News Agency. Retrieved 2019-10-26.
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