Our Mission

Our objectives

As set out in the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Charitable Company the objects of Aid to the Church in Need’s mission are:

• to advance the Christian religion by supporting and promoting the Church, especially in countries where Christians are suffering persecution or discrimination;
• to further the other charitable work of the Church by providing practical assistance and pastoral care for persons in need, especially those who are living in, or are refugees from, such countries.

Our work around the world

Each year Aid to the Church in Need makes grants to help fund over 5,000 projects, primarily in the following areas:

• provision of catechetical material and books
• broadcasting the Faith
• help with church buildings
• support for the training of seminarians
• grants for the formation of religious and catechists
• subsidies for priests through grants and Mass stipends
• emergency aid to refugees
• provision of transport for those involved in the Church’s mission.

Aid to the Church in Need as an international organisation

At the instigation of Pope Pius XII, the international organisation Aid to the Church in Need was founded by the Norbertine priest Father Werenfried van Straaten in 1947, when, that Christmas, he wrote an open letter, ‘No room at the inn’ highlighting the appalling situation facing post-war refugees.

The secretariat of Aid to the Church in Need International (also known as Kirche in Not/Ostpriesterhilfe) is based in Königstein, Germany, where annually over 5,000 projects throughout the world are coordinated and information material produced.

Our Core Values

Faith and Christian Love
The foundation of all our activities is Christian faith and love. This includes our fidelity to the Holy Father and adherence to the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church.

In the fulfilment of this task Our Lady of Fatima is our Model, Mother, Advocate and Sign of Hope.

Pastoral Commitment
Our aim is a pastoral service in faithfulness to Aid to the Church in Need’s historical charism. Our way of evangelisation reaches out to the whole human person: body and soul. One might say we provide food for both hungry souls and empty stomachs. We strive to proclaim the Gospel “welcome or unwelcome” (2 Timothy 4:2).

We are committed to helping our beneficiaries through financing pastoral projects, and our benefactors through publications, talks and media work.

Prayer
Regular prayer, personal and common, animates our daily work and strengthens our missionary spirit. It moves us to offer spiritual assistance to those who are suffering because of their loyalty to Christ and His Church.

Unity
Faithful to our historical roots, we serve to promote unity and reconciliation. In line with the vision of the Holy Father, we support initiatives in building unity with the Orthodox Church. We strive for a deeper unity with our benefactors by praying for their intentions, providing information and expressing gratitude on behalf of those they help.

Service
As a bridge between benefactor and beneficiary, we fulfil our mission through humble and selfless service.

Life
Human life is a sacred gift from God. We therefore sustain and defend the Culture of Life in all its dimensions. We promote the understanding of sexuality in the beauty of chaste human love and uphold married and family life as the basic cell of society. Aid to the Church in Need believes in the sanctity of human life, from the moment of conception to its natural end.

Openness
In Christian fellowship, we will animate and strengthen fruitful communication and dialogue among races, nations and communities. Within the organisation, we will build up and sustain solidarity through transparency and creative responsibility.

Trust
Our unshakeable trust in Divine Providence guiding us into the future fills us with hope and confidence and enables us to place trust in others and, in turn, to be trusted by them.

Aid to the Church in Need as a Pontifical Foundation

In December 2011, it was announced that Pope Benedict XVI had elevated the international organisation Aid to the Church in Need, of which the British section is a part, to the status of Pontifical Foundation. Previously the organisation had been a Universal Public Association, whose revised decrees were approved by the Congregation of the Clergy on 10 December 1997 (Decree No.97003166, Vatican City).

At the same time, the Holy Father appointed the Prefect of the Congregation for the Clergy, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, to the position of President of the Foundation.