ACN’s accounts for 2023 once again reflect the generosity of the foundation’s donors from all over the world, to help suffering Christians and the Church in Need. The countries that received the most aid in 2023 were Ukraine, Syria, and Lebanon, and the continent that received the most was Africa.
The international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) maintained its level of revenue from previous years, with $154M million in donations and legacies in 2023. This value, along with $0.8M in reserves from the previous year, allowed the foundation to fund activities worth $155M.
The generosity of almost 360,000 donors, in the 23 countries where ACN has national offices, among others, continue to allow ACN to function without any financial support from governments or ecclesial bodies.
In a message to donors, the executive president of ACN International, Regina Lynch, says, “Once again, these numbers reflect a true miracle. From a purely human perspective, one cannot commit to helping without having first secured funds, but since we believe in Divine Providence, we have been doing so since 1947. Therefore, this yearly activity report is, above all, an opportunity to give thanks to God.”
A total of 81.3 percent of the funds went directly to mission-related expenses. Within that amount, 85.9 percent went to aid projects in 138 countries, allowing the foundation to approve 5,573 projects out of 7,689 requests for help. The remaining 14.1 percent, or $17.7M, went to activities related to information work, proclaiming the faith, and the defense of persecuted Christians, including the publication of religious literature, as well as prayer campaigns and advocacy efforts. Essential administrative expenditure accounted for 7.3 percent and advertising for 11.4 percent.
Aid with a global reach
The country that received the most aid from ACN in 2023 was Ukraine, for the second year in a row, with $7.5M. The Catholic Church in Ukraine remains committed to healing the spiritual wounds of those traumatized by the war and continues, in this difficult situation, to accompany those who are suffering due to the ongoing conflict. Syria came next, with $7.9M, followed by Lebanon, with $7.4M. In both countries, the Christian population is still dealing with the effects of a crippling economic crisis and, in Syria, a long-lasting civil war and a terrible earthquake.
At the regional level, Africa received the most support, with almost a third of ACN’s resources, or 31.4 percent, going toward projects on the continent. Among the region’s main beneficiaries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as Nigeria and Burkina Faso. “Africa is home to approximately one in every five Catholics, one in every eight priests, one in every seven female religious, and almost a third of the world’s seminarians. Besides that, the spread of terrorism and Islamic extremism in some countries, especially in the Sahel region, are a cause of great suffering and pain for Christians in Africa,” Lynch said.
The Middle East, with 19.1 percent of aid, received the second highest amount of support. 61 percent of the funds for Syria went to emergency aid, including food and housing, medical assistance, and microcredit support for businesses. In Lebanon, emergency aid accounted for 47 percent of total aid to the country. It was mainly used to maintain the operation of Christian schools, but a considerable amount was also allocated to food, housing, and medical care.
A further 17.3 percent of ACN funds went to Asia-Oceania, especially to India, where the foundation also provides the largest number of scholarships to priests and religious. Europe and Latin America received 15.4 percent and 15.3 percent, respectively. The remaining 1.5 percent went to other regions.
Close to 6,000 projects approved
In 2023, the charity provided almost 1.75 million Mass stipends to 40,767 priests. Statistically, this means that one in every 10 priests in the world received support from ACN, and that every 18 seconds, a Mass was celebrated somewhere around the world for the intentions of ACN donors.
ACN also supported the formation of almost 11,000 seminarians in 2023, which accounts for one in every 10 seminarians in the world. Most of these were in Africa, which is now home to the highest number of priestly vocations (5,793), followed by Latin America with 2,103, Asia with 1,996, and Europe with 1,099, 600 of which are in Ukraine.
Support for the formation of priests, religious, and laypeople represented 26 percent of all support, while Mass stipends and subsistence aid for women religious amounted to 21.6 percent.
Given the high costs of construction projects, this type of aid is at the top of the list, with more than a quarter of all aid (26.8 percent). In 2023, there were almost a thousand construction projects, a third of which involved churches and chapels. The remaining amount went to the renovations of convents, seminaries, parish houses, and pastoral centers. Africa was the region with the most construction projects, with 36.2 percent of all funds going to this purpose.
ACN directed 10.4 percent of its aid to transportation, providing 1,041 vehicles to help pastoral agents carry out their missions. They include 515 automobiles, 340 motorcycles, 175 bicycles, six buses, and five boats. There were also 21 projects for maintenance and repair.
Emergency aid accounted for about 11 percent of expenses, and in more countries than before, including the Holy Land, where the current conflict has had a serious adverse effect on the Christian population.
Looking to the future, Lynch explained that “in 2024, our focus is tending to shift toward pastoral accompaniment and support for people in war zones or facing persecution, who have suffered deep trauma as a result. This is an area where we hope to further intensify our help.”
“We also want to step up our help in the Sahel region, where jihadist terrorism is spreading and where Christians are facing increasing suffering from the violence,” she concluded.
ACN’s global financial results are audited by PwC (Pricewaterhouse Coopers).
—Maria Lozano