Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, hasraised ACN to the status of a Papal Founda-tion. This honor confirms our charity in itsworldwide mission of helping to establishthe Kingdom of Christ’s love everywhere.Actually the Church is in her own way afoundation, founded in the blood of Jesus,which He poured out in love onthe cross in order to redeem usall. That is why loving sacrificeis the true inheritance of theChurch. Father Werenfried usedto say that ACN’s mission is toadminister not just the moneybut above all the love of our benefactors.

This capital – your love for our brothers andsisters – is increased and expanded throughthe treasury of graces of the sufferings ofcountless martyrs and confessors of our faith.Only a Christian who truly gives himself canbe a convincing proof of the genuineness offaith. The story is sometimes told of PopeSaint Pius X who, as Bishop of Mantua,often used to attend the final examinationsof his seminarians and frequently liked to putquestions to them himself. One of his ques-

tions was this: “Tell me, what are the essen-tial marks of the Church of Jesus Christ?”Naturally enough, the candidates found iteasy to answer this quite elementary ques-tion: The Church of Christ is one, holy,catholic and apostolic... But then their bishopwould always add: “There is something im-portant you have forgotten – the Church ofJesus Christ is always the persecuted Church

as well.” In other words, trials and persecu-tion are part of the ‘normal state’ of theChurch. They are her ‘certificate of genuine-ness.’

Dear Friends, during the Lenten season letus unite together with suffering Christiansthroughout the world, and let us likewiseoffer our own daily ‘drops of blood’ for theChurch and for the conversion of the nations.May the contemplation of the Way of theCross be a source of grace for us fromwhichwe can draw strength to turn the difficulties

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and sufferings of our own everyday life,through love, into blessings. Above all in theholy hour of 3pm – the hour of Our Lord’sdeath – we can obtain all things. This is pre-cisely what Jesus promised to Saint FaustinaKowalska: “At this hour I will deny nothingto the soul that asks Me through My Pas-sion... You can ask everything for yourselfand for others... Strive at this time to make

the Stations of the Cross. But ifthat is not possible for you, thengo for a while to the chapel andadoreMyHeart... and if not eventhat is possible for you, then im-merse yourself, however briefly,in prayer, wherever you happen

to be.”Each of us can do something. Each of us canlove. We thank you, dear benefactors, foryour prayers and your gifts of love. Movedby your spirit, which is the spirit of Christ,we intend to distribute these gifts whereverthe Church is truly in need.I bless you, in profound gratitude,

Fr. Martin Maria BartaEcclesiastical Assistant

The Church of Jesus Christis always the persecutedChurch as well.

“In defeat, in the humiliationof those who suffer for theGospel, a force is active thatthe world does not know:it is the power of love,

defenseless and victoriouseven in apparent defeat.

It is the force that challengesand triumphs over death.”Pope Benedict XVI, preaching on April 7, 2008, incommemoration of the martyrs of the 20th century

The Cross, the sign of love – from Iraq to Kazakhstan,suffering and persecuted Christians look to you for help.

No. 2 – March/April 2012NewsletterPublished

eight times a year

ED/2/5/13

www.churchinneed.org

Evangelizing – always

and everywhere (Benedict XVI)

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Constructio

n aid

Building God’s House with St. Joseph

Burkina Faso. Everyone has a job to do– and you are helping them to do it.

India.The basic structure is there – willyou help them to finish this church?

The Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe, NewMexico, is 130 years old. Inside itthere is a marvelous stairway, lead-ing up to the choir loft. It has 36steps and makes two complete 360-degree turns, without any centralsupporting column, yet it is still quitestable.

Nobody knows where the hard wood comesfrom; no one knows who the builder was.The report of the Sisters of Our Lady ofLight, who had the chapel built, notes onlythat the Sisters prayed a novena to SaintJoseph, because after long searching theycould find no one capable of building a stairup to the choir loft. Then one day a man ap-peared with a donkey and a tool bag and of-fered his services; he hammered andcarpentered for six months and then disap-peared without trace, before the Sisterscould pay him. The stair still stands, to theadmiration of many architects, and the Sis-ters were convinced that the carpenter wasnone other than Saint Joseph himself, thepatron saint of all workmen.

Ora et labora – prayer and work – both arenecessary. We must do whatever we can;then Saint Joseph will also help us. In Bous-sou, in BurkinaFaso, everyone iswilling to lend ahand, and the littleParish of Saint Bernadette is growing rap-idly. In fact their modest church, which ac-commodates 300 people, is no longer bigenough. Every Sunday over 1,000 Catholic

faithful come to Holy Mass. As a result, theliturgy is more often than not celebrated inthe open air – whenever the weather per-mits. Already the parish numbers 7,000Catholics and another 3,000 are preparingfor baptism. The new church will have suf-ficient space. They have been working on itsince October and everyone is helping – thewomen bringing the sand, while the menbuild the walls. Meanwhile, carpenters are

preparing the rooftrusses. Everyone isdoing what they can.But now they need

more money for building materials and sothey have turned to us for help to fund therest. Knowing your generosity, and firmlytrusting in the intercession of Saint Joseph,we have already promised them $17,700.

Saint Joseph knows well how important thehouse of God is and that it is where we canfind Jesus. He and Mary sought the youngJesus, “sorrowing” and when they foundHim, after three days, in the Temple, theyheard the words “Why were you looking forme? Did you not know that I must be in myFather’s house?” (Lk. 2:49). In one parishin Vietnam this house is in danger of col-lapsing. Built over 100 years ago, it is in ur-gent need of renovation today. The roofleaks, the walls are cracked, the wind whis-

tles through doors and windows. The 1,500Catholics in the parish are simply too poorto be able to realize their dream of a solidand beautiful house to honor Jesus’ Father.We have promised to cover two thirds of thecost ($32,600). In the Diocese of Soddo inEthiopia, the money required is much less.The construction of the chapel in the SacredHeart Parish in Woreda will cost just$6,500. This chapel will be the only placewhere the people can gather together as aparish. But meanwhile, 11 other parishes inthe diocese are also waiting… •

Vietnam. A church with a history – withyour help it will also have a future.

Ethiopia.They want to replace thisgrass ‘chapel’ with a permanent church.

‘Ora et labora’ – work andprayer – both are necessary.

Any donation you kindly give will go to support these, or similar projects, and enable the pastoral work of Aid to the Church in Need.

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For FatherWerenfried our persecutedbrothers and sisters were“the elite ofthe Church.”To show solidarity withthem is a commandment of love and,in his ownwords,“amatter of honor.”

They are an elite that is growing evermore numerous – and yet living in secret,for example in China. We cannot givenames or places, but there are many proj-ects – ranging from support for religiousSisters, scholarships for seminarians,training catechists, printing Bibles,through to building new chapels, repair-ing old ones and funding vehicles for pas-toral work. Last year there were 69projects, ranging in cost from $1,170 to$49,500. And the number will grow. Fordespite the renewed repression, “theGospel is exploding in China,” as even themore cautious observers acknowledge.This, of course, fits perfectly with whatFather Werenfried always said, “TheChurch is nowhere more flourishing thanwhere she suffers persecution for the sake

of Christ.” Yet it is still a blossom thatneeds to be nurtured by our love.“Love until it hurts.” This was the motto ofMother Teresa. True love, she said, is alwaystested by suffering, and often by persecution.This might last a lifetime – or it might cost usour life. This is the situation facing priests inIraq. They know that at any moment theymight be killed by a bomb attack or abductedand murdered by Islamists. The number ofChristians in the land of Abraham is shrink-

Shepherds in Iraq – a dwindling flock,but hope in the Good Shepherd endures.

Back to the bare stones – ArchbishopNona in a bombed-out church in Mosul.

Persecution

Loving till it hurts

Christians inTunisia are a tiny minor-ity, and their situation is precarious.There are fears about where thecountry, or society, is heading underthe current Islamist dominance.

It’s the old story of the mustard seed. Theyhave to remain discreet and yet effective.They do this by their example, bearing wit-ness to the Good News by the testimony oftheir lives, building bridges between cul-tures, welcoming others with open arms and

showing them that Christ is both their friendand their hope – for only in this way can thenon-Christians come to know the God oflove. Their archbishop has encouraged thisin his pastoral letter, but to do this they alsoneed places to meet. They need them for theparishes themselves, for special occasions,for pastoral work. We are helping the arch-bishop and his faithful co-workers by part-funding the construction of a multipurposehall in the pastoral center for $13,000. It willbe a place of the Good News. •

Winning friends for Christ – in Tunisia

‘Ut cognoscant te’ – that they maycome to knowYou.This is theepiscopal motto of Archbishop MarounLahham of Tunis.

ing; hence it is all the more vital that thosewho do remain should experience our soli-darity and their bishops be helped tostrengthen their brethren. They are, in fact,doing just this – by organizing ongoing train-ing courses at which their priests can ex-change not only theological insights but alsotheir life experiences – which are not infre-quently ‘survival experiences’ as well. In thisway they can pray together, gather togetheraround the Lord in the Eucharist, strengthenone another and pass on this strength to thepeople in their parishes. The transport andaccommodation costs for these meetings$13,000) stretch further than one mightthink. And they bring joy, not sorrow. Itwould be good to have more of them. •

Visiting the “elite of the Church” – Fr.Werenfried in 1961, with Chinese Christians whohad fled to Hong Kong.This was the beginning of our help for the Church in Asia.

Any donation you kindly give will go to support these, or similar projects, and enable the pastoral work of Aid to the Church in Need.

4

An “apostolate of charity”The mission of ACN in our turbulenttimes, in a sick society that is far fromgoodness, is an act of charity on ourearth. ACN is promoting peace andspreading the Good News. May Godhelp you in your “apostolate of charity”and may the Holy Family strengthen youin pursuing all your plans and projectsfor the future.

A benefactress in Portugal

Sustaining us by her prayersI cannot support you financially, as I amonly just 16. But I do pray for you everyevening. I am supporting you with myprayers and by reading the Gospels.Whenever I receive the Mirror, I amoverjoyed.

Agnès, in France

A birthday offeringFor my 70th birthday I asked my familyand friends not to give me presents butinstead to make a donation for theneedy. Now I have great joy in sendingyou €330. May God bless your work!

A pensioner in Austria

Posters for SudanThe children in our local mission schoolhave really got involved in helping forSudan. They are constantly coming upwith new ideas. Today we paintedposters that were put up all over theschool. They have also produced leafletsand put them under the windscreenwipers of cars. We want to remain al-ways open to the needs of the Church.Please let us know how we can help.

A religious Sister in Poland

Need, love and thanks – Your letters

The winters are bit-terly cold in Buchach,inWestern Ukraine. Inthe churches, yourbreath freezes whenthe heating doesn’twork. Their gloriousByzantine Liturgiesare long – and whenthe heating fails, thecongregation, espe-cially the children andold people, suffers.And that is exactly what did happen in the not quite finished cathedral of thisyoung diocese. “Beyond repair,” was the verdict regarding the heating sys-tem. But the construction of the cathedral had emptied the coffers over thepast few years and so the purchase of a new boiler was impossible.Then latelast autumn, newly-ordained Greek-Catholic Bishop Dmytro Hryhorak turnedto ACN for help.We said yes; now he thanks you with all his heart. But per-haps the best thanks we can have is the fact that both choir and congrega-tion can now sing out the praises of the Lord without shivering and sneezing.

JohannesFreiherrHeereman,Executive Presidentof ACN International

DDeeaarr FFrriieennddss,,

As Executive President of ACN, Iam chairman of an executive com-mittee that will implement the reso-lutions of the new AdministrativeCouncil of our Foundation and su-pervise the use of the money en-trusted to us by you – in accordancewith the Spiritual Guidelines of Fa-ther Werenfried. I thank you with allmy heart for this trust. In the Mir-ror you will see how together we arehelping persecuted and oppressedChristians. In the future I will usethis column to keep you informedabout important events and meet-ings in our daily life and work inRome and Königstein.

As for myself, I am a lawyer whospent 30 years heading the Knightsof Malta, a major aid organizationwith 50,000 volunteer and full-timestaff. For the past 42 years I havebeen married to a lay theologian –perhaps that is the reason why fourof our six children are now studyingtheology. We also have four grand-children, with whom I would reallylove to be able to spend more timenow. But clearly, Divine Providencehad other plans in mind for me. Andso I am delighted and privileged tobe able to serve in this great andwonderful work, in the spirit of Fa-ther Werenfried.

Publisher: Kirche in Not/Ostpriesterhilfe, Aid to the Church in Need, International Headquarters,Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany; www.acn-intl.org;Editor-in-chief: Jürgen Liminski De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae Printed in the USA – ISSN 0252-2535

Leave a legacy of your love when writing or changing your will.

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The marvel of Samir’s homecomingPakistan

Full of life and back in the heart of hiscommunity – little Samir with his kite,and with Father Andrew, who nevergave up hope.

The fact that Samir is still alive is, initself, a miracle. In Pa ki stan, an ab-ducted child is almost never re-turned to his family. Just a weekafter his homecoming Samir madehis First Holy Communion.

More than anything, nine-year-old Samirloves playing with his kite. He’s always fly-ing it on the road outside the CatholicCathedral in Lahore. That is what he wasdoing on that fateful October 23. But onthat day his parents waited for to return

home him in vain. A security camera, thathad been installed to protect the cathedral,showed him being abducted by a bearded,white-robed man. His parents were besidethemselves, for Samir’s little sister had al-ready been killed in an earlier bomb attackon the cathedral.The whole parishprayed fervently fora miracle, but theyall knew that children abducted like this aretaken to Afghanistan to be used as suicidebombers. Either that, or their limbs arehacked off so that they can be used to extortmoney from families. Not one such victimhas ever returned alive. But Father AndrewNisari believes in miracles. He kept en-couraging the parents, saying “Your sonwill return!”Samir himself can remember only thesponge that was held over his nose. Theneverything went black. Ten days later hefound himself with his abductor beside the

River Indus, somewhere in the region ofPeshawar on the frontier with Afghanistan.“Let’s just see how deep the water is,” theman said to him. “I’m afraid; I don’t wantto die,” the youngster replied. “No, I’ll holdyour hand,” said the kidnapper. Then, asSamir continued to struggle, the man sim-ply threw him into the water and made off.Father Andrew believes that his abductorjust wanted to get rid of the boy, since thecase had been publicized on television andthe business was getting too dangerous forthe man. But little Samir did not drown. Hewas able to cling to some bamboo stemsand drag himself back onto dry land. Thenhe ran and ran. On a house in Peshawar hesaw a poster with a picture of Mariamabad,the Pakistani Marian shrine. “Please takeme there, to those people,” he said to aMuslim mullah, who had stopped to helphim. Around midnight that night the phonerang at Samir’s family home. Soon theywere all beside themselves with joy. That

same night his fa-ther set out to fetchhis son from Pe-shawar. As they

were still on their way home, Samir tele-phoned Father Andrew. “What about myFirst Holy Communion?” he asked him. The next day Samir arrived home. Thewhole parish turned out to meet him andeveryone was in tears, even Father Andrew.A week later Samir made his First HolyCommunion. This year he will once againbe able to join the parish pilgrimage toMariamabad to sing Our Lady’s praises.Last year everyone had missed the sound ofhis voice. •

Eva-Maria Kolmann

The whole parish prayedfor a miracle.

The cathedral of Lahore. Sunday catechism class, summer camp for young people, instruction for women and girls – ACN ishelping the Catholic Church in Pakistan in many different ways.

Any donation you kindly give will go to support these, or similar projects, and enable the pastoral work of Aid to the Church in Need.

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In the heart of the city, in the midst of the peopleThe New Evange

lization

A new convent for Vienna – a place of silence, adoration and mission.

Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, the Archbishop of Vienna has been the responsiblebishop for both branches of the community – Sisters and Brothers – since 1996.

Their habit is simple – a lavenderblue smock, with a dark blue head-scarf. But they are also recog - nizable for the work they do, theirsolidarity with the poor, their con-cern for young people, friendshiptowards all. The Little Sisters of theLamb hope in these ways to showforth the love of God in society.

“Many people have been wounded and sono longer have any contact with theChurch; they have long since walkedaway. Through our begging, the Churchcan once more reach out to them.” In thesestriking, but modest, words one Sister de-scribes the impact of their community inVienna. They have been present in theAustrian capital since 1996, as a branchof the Dominican order, founded in 1983in France and now including both maleand female communities. Today the com-munity is present in eight other countriesand numbers 130 Sisters and 30 Brothers.Their way of life radiates a spirit of joyand poverty.

In Vienna’s 20th District, an overwhelm-ingly Muslim part of the city, the LittleSisters are now building a convent of theirown. They had long been seeking a suit-able site, but for the most part they en-countered “great resistance from the

visibly secularized population.” However,in Vienna’s Bezirk 20 they were actuallywelcomed, and the neighbors encouragedthem to build. Boththe leader of thedistrict council andthe local parishpriest welcomed the project, while Chris-tians in the area felt encouraged. TheArchdiocese made a building plot avail-able, and the foundation stone was laid inJune 2011. By now the foundations havebeen laid and the walls are being built up.In building it the Sisters are closely fol-lowing the rule of Saint Dominic, which

demands a plain and simple structure as asign of poverty and humility. The newconvent will be a simple single-story

building with spacefor 10 Sisters, apublicly accessiblechapel, a refectory,

two inner courtyards with green spaces,plus an enclosure and chapel for the Sis-ters.

Although the convent is surrounded bymultistory buildings, it will not disappearin the urban landscape; in fact quite thecontrary. “Our experience in Vienna in re-cent years has shown us just how neces-sary it is to live in the heart of the city andto have a place that is accessible and opento all,” the Sister explains. “A place ofprayer, of hospitality, of liturgical cele-bration, a place of missionary presenceamong the people.”

“The contemplative, yet missionary out-look is precisely what is needed today bythe age and by the Church,” writes Cardi-nal Schönborn, assuring us of his support.ACN is also helping, with a contributionof $130,400. The convent is being fundedentirely by private donations. In fact thereis no other way, for the Sisters have noth-ing – only your generosity and their owntrust in God. •

Reinhard Backes

An example of God’s love.

Any donation you kindly give will go to support these, or similar projects, and enable the pastoral work of Aid to the Church in Need.