FAITH ALIVE Issue 15

Read inspirational stories

…of faith-strong men and women around the globe who are shining the light of Christ even in the darkest parts of the world.

HOW TO use this magazine PLAY

Catch a quick glimpse

Click on “play video” to catch a quick glimpse of the reach and impact of ACN’s positive work around the world.

Help us support those in need

We invite you to consider making a donation to help us fund key projects which provide essential aid to Christians in need around the world.

I am delighted to present to you another edition of ‘Faith Alive’, the first one for this year 2024.

This issue features stories about the current situation of our Christian brothers and sisters in the Holy Land and Ukraine, and how Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is helping to bring them life-saving aid, hope and comfort.

In this season of Lent, I invite you to take concrete steps to nurture your Faith through the three pillars of Lent - prayer, fasting and charity. With your charitable support this Lent, we can continue helping Christians who practically rely on our compassion to survive.

Do read through and please give what you can, as it is only through your kindness that we are able to show the love of Christ, and support those in need.

With prayers for a holy Lent and a joyful Easter.

Yours in Christ,

Stephen Axisa National Director

UKRAINE: PORTRAITS OF HEROIC AND SIMPLE PEOPLE IN THE UKRAINE WAR

Last month (February 2024) marked ten years since Russia marched into parts of Ukraine, and two years since the large-scale invasion which set off the worst conflict in Europe for decades.

https://youtu.be/iFUwZ6CAM8E

Last month (February 2024) marked ten years since Russia marched into parts of Ukraine, and two years since the largescale invasion which set off the worst conflict in Europe for decades.

Late last year, despite the war, a delegation from ACN travelled to Ukraine, as a sign of solidarity but also to see the work of the Church which is helping people that are exhausted but are also determined not to give up. The Church in Ukraine is a light in the midst of all the darkness.

ACN met women and men who have suffered terribly: Priests, Religious Sisters and lay people who give their lives every day to alleviate, just a little, the suffering of the Ukrainian people. These are Christians, who on the Way of the Cross which they are walking, give a witness of Faith.

ACN wants to give these people a face and share their witness with others, so that the world does not forget the war in Ukraine, and so that the Ukrainian people are not left alone in their vulnerable situation.

YOUR DONATION IS SAVING LIVES

NINA AND LYUDMILA:

Warmth and protection for those who no longer have anyone

Since the beginning of the war, the St. John Paul II Parish, in a suburb of Lviv city, has achieved unbelievable things. With its geographical position, it was pretty much the springboard for the onward journey to Poland for many internally displaced persons (IDPs). Up to 250 IDPs found accommodation in this Parish, and around 1,800 meals were served daily in the Parish’s tent kitchen. Today, only 50 internally displaced people are still there, mostly families with small children and older people, who find it difficult to get accommodation. We spoke with some of them, such as Nina from Donetsk and Lyudmila from Kharkiv.

What these women all have in common is that they have lost everything and have no family to care for them. In March 2023, volunteers welcomed the women at the station in Lviv and took them to the emergency shelter. “If there is no help,” says Nina anxiously, “where do we go? We are deeply grateful to the Parish because here we have found somewhere to stay.”

Nina and Lyudmila

SR. BERNADETA:

With you at our side we can carry on helping

“Do you know, that without the help of ACN’s benefactors, we wouldn’t be here anymore – and also wouldn’t be able to help those who so desperately need it? Your presence here today is a motivation for us to carry on.” said Sister Bernadeta, superior of the Benedictine Sisters community in Lviv to ACN’s team. Since the very beginning of the war, these Sisters have opened their home to internally displaced people. They share their daily lives, housework, joys and sorrows. And they help these IDPs to get back on their feet - not only materially, but above all mentally and spiritually.

Sr. Bernadeta says, “we have had around 1,200 IDPs here since the beginning of the war. Currently, we have 25 living here. Many of them come to pray together, to confess and to receive the Holy Eucharist. Some for the first time in their lives.”

Sr. Bernadette Venglovska comforting a displaced woman

YOUR DONATION IS SAVING LIVES

PETRO:

“Until now, war was something I only knew about from books”

Petro is in his sixth year at the Catholic Seminary of St. Joseph in Lviv-Bryukovychi. The 27-year-old comes from a devout Catholic family, with a solid foundation of Faith. He spoke to ACN about the beginning of the war, when the Seminarians went straight into action – a real trial by fire: thousands of displaced persons sought shelter in the grounds of the seminary. Most then set off in the direction of the Polish border.

“Until then, war was something I only knew about from books. At first, we were completely horrified when we heard the news about the Russian invasion and, to begin with, we went and shut ourselves in the Chapel to pray. Then, we saw the first IDPs, and the first rockets shot over our heads. I remember a family, father and mother and two children… The father came to us in the middle of February dressed in just shorts and a t-shirt. The family hadn’t even managed to bring a toothbrush with them. A little later they learned that their house had been destroyed and that there was nothing left to save. You feel very helpless in such situations.”

ACN supported more than 584 Seminarians in 2022 and 544 in 2023, helping with their formation or living costs. Many of them have, like Petro, taken care of displaced people.

Seminarian Petro

ARCHBISHOP

SVIATOSLAV

SHEVCHUK:

“We are exhausted, completely exhausted.”

“We are exhausted, completely exhausted. Eighty percent of the population is impacted by the war one way or another: as fighters, as displaced persons, as families concerned about the fate of their soldiers, as those providing help… As children, who can’t go to school anymore, or simply as those who can no longer afford the rising prices.

I’m more concerned about the division caused by what people have experienced in the war. Between those who fled and those who stayed, those who went abroad and those who were internally displaced. The Church must work notwithstanding these tensions and heal them.”

In April 2022, Kyiv was practically empty. Only 80,000 of the city’s 4.5 million inhabitants remained. When I asked him what the Church could do to help, Mayor Klitschko replied: “What we need most from you is not food and clothing, but a word of hope.”

Archbishop Shevchuk (Major Archbishop of Kyiv)

OLA:

“Being the wife of a soldier means living on hope every day”

When the war started in 2014, her husband enrolled as a volunteer to protect the country’s borders against the foreign invasion. From that moment, Ola says, her life changed completely. Her family became “a military family. When your husband is on the front line, you live on hope; everything revolves around waiting and phone calls.

“His final call came at 11pm the night before, and I said to him: ‘Call me tomorrow, because you’re so tired now.’ He died on 17 April 2022 at 6.30am. I was told that the building he was in came under fire, that he received a head injury and fought for his life for 40 minutes. I was certain that he would return. As a matter of fact, I’m still waiting and hoping for a WhatsApp message from him,” she says.

The families of those who are killed in action would be unable to cope without the spiritual support provided by military Chaplains. “My children went through a very difficult period, and the Chaplains helped them to pull through.” Two of them, especially, look after us so well that my children now say they have three fathers.”

Please “Help us support those in Need” thank you

NATALYA:

“Help me not to become a lost spirit”

Natalya is the mother of a three-year-old girl. Her husband has been at the front for 18 months. She is one of the people receiving support and companionship from the House of Mercy, founded by the Archdiocese of Lviv. “Here, I don’t feel lonely, and I can talk about my fears. Being the wife of a soldier on the front line means a lot of suffering. Coming here gives me stability, for my own good and for my husband. It’s helping me to guard against madness, and I feel stronger as a result. It has enabled me to return to a normal life; I had been wandering around like a lost spirit.”

Please “Help us support those in Need” thank you

Natalya with her daughter

FR ROMAN LABA:

The first task of the Church is to provide shelter

Pauline Priest Roman Laba lives in Bowary, a suburb just seven kilometres from Kyiv. In the first days of the war, the town was hit many times by rockets. One of these attacks killed seven people and injured 17. “Many people fled to the west of the country, but others sought refuge with us during the shooting”, says the Priest. Following that, Fr. Roman wrote the word SHELTER in big white letters on a wooden fence next to the Monastery.

“Members of the Parish and people from surrounding buildings came looking for help and protection, so we set up emergency accommodation in the cellar of our Monastery and in the unfinished Monastery Church which, with the support of ACN, is just being built. We had around 80 people with us,” says Fr Roman.

“This is the first task of the Church: to provide shelter, to be a haven for those who suffer, who are alone, who are afraid,” he says.

Fr. Roman Laba pointing to the Ukrainian word “shelter” on a wooden fence on the premises of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Perpetual Help Parish Church in Brovary, Kyiv

“WE ARE CLOSER THAN EVER TO THE CRUCIFIED SAVIOUR”

In the midst of chaos and uncertainty, the Christian community in Gaza is enduring its darkest hour. The phone lines are cut, leaving them isolated and disconnected from the world. Sister Nabila’s voice fades in and out, one can hardly understand what Sister Nabila is trying to say.

YOUR DONATION IS SAVING LIVES

Injured people receiving Holy Communion at the Holy Family Parish, Gaza

https://youtu.be/zZtn0uX3eY8

Only a few written messages arrive from time to time, offering glimpses of hope, with the simple phrase “We are fine”. But upon further inquiry, their definition of “fine” reveals a distressing truth - they are merely surviving, lacking the most basic necessities.

But hope and gratitude are always present: “What little we do have is due to God’s grace. The people outside are suffering even more than we are because they don’t have that comfort at the moment.”

The Christian community in Gaza is going through the worst period since the outbreak of the war. Another Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) project partner, whose phone line is stable, but who the Charity prefers to keep anonymous, says: “Our people are constantly suffering. Every time both sides talk about a truce, the intensity of military operations increases.” For the past two weeks the Al Zeyton neighbourhood, where the Holy Family Parish is located, has suffered intense military clashes and shelling. According to ACN reports, the Parish compound is

currently hosting 128 families - a total of 512 ChristiansCatholic and Orthodox, including 120 children under 18, among them 60 with disabilities, and 84 people over 65. Food supplies are very limited and “the problem has nothing to do with the availability of cash”, explains the same source. “It is simply that food is scarce, and it is difficult to find anywhere to buy it. The Christian community takes every possible opportunity to secure some clean water and food,” he confirms.

With the help of ACN, among other organisations, the Latin Patriarchate is able to provide per person two meals a week and a loaf of bread every two days. But on other days, the community has to survive by managing their supplies, or try to find food in other ways. “People walk for long hours to get a small box of food, which in the end is not even enough for three people. In this forced diet, sharing is becoming part of daily life and their new Christian identity,” the source tells ACN.

Clean water is one of the most serious challenges at the moment. “We have dirty water for toilets and sanitary units, and water is being purified using traditional methods.” Another serious problem is sanitation. As a result of the shortages, many people have lost weight. “Children are suffering from a virus that causes nausea and diarrhoea and four of the elderly are facing serious illnesses and would require immediate hospitalisation. This is impossible at the moment.”

“However, Faith is something that encourages the small community,” says the project partner. Besides the celebration of daily Mass, catechism sessions and the recitation of the Rosary, the Parish organises activities for children and meetings for trauma healing through prayer. The staff of the Catholic centre of St. Thomas Aquinas, which moved into the Parish compound after its building was bombed, is also involved in these activities.

“They are all exhausted, no one can really experience what they are going through. With God’s grace, our children are now even closer to their Faith than ever before. It is a very special Easter, we are closer than ever to the crucified Saviour,” the project partner concludes.

Even though it is very difficult to get through to Sister Nabila, there is one thing she always tells ACN to ask people: “Pray for us, pray for the whole population, that this war might end.”

The Priest and the Nuns, like Sister Nabila, who look after the people are doing heroic work.

The small community of Catholics in Gaza, strengthened by their Faith

POPE ISSUES

VIDEO PRAYER APPEAL FOR PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS

Pope Francis has hailed the courage of the martyrs in a video about Christian persecution.

YOUR DONATION IS SAVING LIVES

Pope Francis

https://youtu.be/xbzHhjAWu0k

In the March edition of ‘The Pope Video’, produced in collaboration with Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), the Holy Father dedicates this month’s prayer intention to persecuted Christians.

In the video, promoted by the Worldwide Prayer Network, the Pope states: “The courage of the martyrs, the witness of the martyrs, is a blessing for everyone.”

Referring to reports that “there are more martyrs today than at the beginning of Christianity,” he says: “Let us pray that those who risk their lives for the Gospel in various parts of the world might imbue the Church with courage and missionary drive and be open to the grace of martyrdom.”

He describes how, at a camp for displaced people on the island of Lesbos, a Muslim told him that his wife had been killed by terrorists who slit her throat in front of him after she refused to renounce her Christian Faith.

Reflecting on his encounter with the grieving widower, the Pope states: “I knew he held no grudges. He was focused on his wife’s example of love.”

The Pope goes on: “Brothers, sisters, there will always be martyrs among us. This is a sign that we’re on the right path.”

The video, which is only about two minutes long, features footage from Iraq’s Nineveh Plains where Christians suffered genocidal violence at the hands of ISIS militants.

Another clip shows the memorial to Servant of God Akash Bashir, the teenage Christian volunteer guard who gave his life one Sunday in March 2015 when he prevented a suicide bomber from entering a packed St. John’s Church, in Yohannabad, Pakistan.

The release of the video comes just days after 15 Christians were slain when men armed with knives disrupted a Church service on Sunday in northern Burkina Faso.

YOUR DONATION IS SAVING LIVES

In Nigeria, there has been an upsurge in killings and abductions, including of Clergy, as well as attacks on Church communities. The Pontiff sent a post on X, formerly Twitter, stating that the “increasingly frequent kidnappings” were “extremely concerning”.

ACN’s Executive President Regina Lynch praised the Pope’s video, saying the initiative is “very important in order to encourage prayer for the victims of persecution, as well as advocacy for those who suffer discrimination for their Faith.”

Please “Help us support those in Need” thank you

YOUR COMPASSION IS THEIR HOPE

Will you give a Gift of Faith as an expression of your compassion for our persecuted and suffering Christians this Lent?

Your compassion can bring hope to our suffering brothers and sisters in the Holy Land, Ukraine, Lebanon and parts of the world where ACN works.

Give up Something, Give Hope!

Give up something during these days of Lent and help suffering Christians around the world to survive. Whatever you can afford, can serve to change a life!

Please give a Gift of Faith today. Show compassion. Give hope!

www.giftsoffaith.help