ISSUE No 18
FAITH ALIVE
GAZA:
HOPE IS TAKING ROOT IN GAZA Helping the suffering Church today www.acnmalta.org
UKRAINE: A gift for religious sisters - who are a gift to others
BURKINA FASO: Will you help with a surprise gift this Christmas
LEBANON: Thanks for a Christmas that has shown seeds of Peace
HOW TO use this magazine 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.
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.
A word from the National Director 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.
35/3, Mdina Road, Attard, ATD 9038 Call 00356 2148 7818 Email info@acnmalta.org Twitter @acn_malta
Advent is a season of waiting, but also of daring to hope. Across the world, our brothers and sisters are preparing for Christmas in the midst of rubble, fear, and uncertainty. And yet, because of your support to Aid to the Church in Need (Malta), hope is taking root. In Gaza, choirs are rehearsing even as families continue to shelter in the damaged Church. In Ukraine, religious sisters are singing carols and sharing meals, embodying Christ’s peace in the shadow of war. In Lebanon and Syria, children’s laughter rings out because your generosity has sown seeds of joy. These stories remind us that your solidarity is more than aid. When you give to ACN (Malta), you affirm that families are not forgotten, that peace is possible, and that joy can be felt even among rubble and devastation. You are part of a miracle of love, carrying Christ’s light into the darkest places. This Christmas, let hope shine through you. Together in the joy of Christ’s birth, let us spread “good tidings of great joy to all people”. With gratitude,
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www.acnmalta.org Aid to the Church in Need is a Pontifical Foundation of the Catholic Church and registered in Malta Reg. No. LPF-212, as a Foundation regulated by the second schedule of the Civil Code Chapter (16) of the Laws of Malta. VO/2227
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Stephen Axisa National Director Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) Malta
GAZA:
HOPE IS TAKING ROOT IN GAZA
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa on April 2nd, 2023, during Palm Sunday celebration in Jerusalem
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Even in devastation, hope is taking root in Gaza. The Catholic parish of the Holy Family is preparing for Christmas 2025 with choirs, gifts, and care for the sick. Your solidarity, through Aid to the Church in Need, nurtures resilience and reminds families that love endures. Fr Gabriel Romanelli, parish priest, describes daily life under the fragile ceasefire: damaged homes, broken water systems, and streets still filled with rubble. “There are over two million people here who have nothing and need everything” he says. Yet even in this scarcity, your compassion is felt. ACN’s humanitarian aid has reached more than 12,000 families, bringing food, medicine, and warmth. The ceasefire has allowed small but precious signs of life to return. Children displaced by war saw the ocean for the first time on a parish excursion. School lessons
have resumed for 150 young people, offering stability and joy. Within the Catholic parish compound, 450 displaced people share shelter, water, and community. “Everyone is human, they suffer in the flesh, in the soul and in the heart” Fr Gabriel reminds us. Even in uncertainty, Christmas preparations are underway. Choirs rehearse hymns, children practice dabkes, and visits to the sick are being planned. Fr Gabriel hopes to bring chocolate to families - “whatever the cost” - because even a small gift can lift spirits and remind them of love. Your solidarity is more than aid; it is identity. By praying and supporting Gaza’s faithful, you affirm that they are not forgotten, that peace is possible, and that joy can be felt even in rubble. As Fr Gabriel pleads: “We should pray. We should pray a lot. For peace, and for all the inhabitants of this Holy Land”.
PLEASE “HELP US SUPPORT THOSE IN NEED” thank you
Our Christian brothers and sisters are holding onto the hope
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YOUR DONATION IS SAVING LIVES
UKRAINE:
A GIFT FOR RELIGIOUS SISTERS - WHO ARE A GIFT TO OTHERS
Group photo of the Christmas carolers
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The Christmas carolers visiting the people
You are part of a miracle of love. In Ukraine, amid the war, Religious Sisters are carrying Christ’s peace into places scarred by fear and trauma. They serve without reward, bringing comfort, food, and joy to the brokenhearted. Your support to ACN (Malta) ensures they can continue to be a gift to others. 6
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Even as air raid sirens echo and bombs fall, carols rise in convent chapels: “Sleep, little Jesus, sleep. Close your little eyes”. For many families, it is thanks to the Sisters that Christmas can still be celebrated. These Sisters stand side by side with the people, sharing their hardship yet offering encouragement and hope. Their strength flows from Jesus Christ, the source of their joy. Sister Maria from Kramatorsk explains: “We Sisters are sharing our Christmas meals with all the needy who come knocking on our convent doors. And we sing carols for Jesus,
YOUR DONATION IS SAVING LIVES
who came into this world, so that we might have hope and not feel alone. He is what matters most at Christmas time”. Across Ukraine, Sisters from many Congregations serve tirelessly - feeding the hungry, visiting the sick and offering spiritual care. Yet they too must pay bills and face soaring costs of food, energy and medicine. With a gift of €84 through ACN (Malta), you sustain one Sister’s life and ministry for a month. Your generosity allows her to continue
opening doors, singing hope, and embodying Christ’s love in the midst of war. This Advent, your support ensures that joy is possible even among the destruction of war, as we mark the birth of the Prince of Peace: Jesus Christ.
PLEASE “HELP US SUPPORT THOSE IN NEED” thank you
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BURKINA FASO:
WILL YOU HELP WITH A SURPRISE GIFT THIS CHRISTMAS?
You can be like an angel this Christmas. Just as shepherds once proclaimed the birth of Christ, today’s catechists carry the Gospel into villages where Priests can rarely visit. They pray with families, prepare children for the Sacraments, and offer comfort in places marked by hardship and danger. Your gift can make their mission lighter and their witness stronger.
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YOUR DONATION IS SAVING LIVES
Fr. Etienne Sawadogo with a group of displaced people
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In Burkina Faso, where Islamist fundamentalist terrorism has devastated communities, catechists are often the ones most at risk. “The catechists are the pillars of the Church and often risk their lives,” explains Fr Edgard Ouedraogo. “There are more martyrs among the catechists here than among us Priests.” In 2023, the parish of Rollo was overrun by terrorists. As families slowly return, 16 catechists continue to serve faithfully, despite exhaustion and fear. Many are elderly or sick, like André, who still drags heavy stones to build a grotto for Our Lady. Each day they travel long distances on battered bicycles, over mud and potholes, returning home utterly worn out. Fr Étienne Sawadogo longs to ease their burden. With motorcycles, 10
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these catechists could reach the faithful more quickly and safely. Each motorcycle costs €1,170, and 16 are needed - €18,720 in total, an impossible sum for this poor parish. Your generous contribution towards this motorcycle fund can provide this surprise gift at Christmas. By helping, you affirm your identity as a bearer of hope, enabling catechists to continue proclaiming Christ’s love in the remotest villages. Across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe, countless catechists serve without pay, sustained only by Faith. This Advent, you can bring joy to them and to the families they serve.
YOUR DONATION IS SAVING LIVES
LEBANON:
THANKS FOR A CHRISTMAS THAT HAS SOWN SEEDS OF PEACE An ACN sponsored oratory activity for children and youth in Lebanon
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Thanks to your help, many thousands of children in the crisistorn region of Lebanon and Syria experience the joy of Christmas every year. From Lebanon, Sister Christina Salameh has written to ACN to thank you on behalf of all these families:
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YOUR DONATION IS SAVING LIVES
“Once again last year, your valuable contributions helped give joy, encouragement and fresh hope to so many children and families at Christmas. Far beyond its material value, this was a living expression of Christian love in practice, which embodies the true spirit of Christmas. This is how we have tried to sow fresh hope in people’s hearts. Every smile, every look of happy surprise, every laugh was a real sign of this hope. Your generosity brought joy where it seemed to have dried out and rekindled hope where it had begun to waver. We firmly believe that these seeds of hope will continue to bear fruit and help transform hearts. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for having been instruments of Divine Providence”.
PLEASE “HELP US SUPPORT THOSE IN NEED” thank you
Lebanese Children and family supported by ACN
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LET HOPE SHINE THROUGH YOU THIS CHRISTMAS suggestend donatio
€90
YOU CAN HELP A CHILD GO BACK TO SCHOOL
suggested donation
suggestend donatio
YOU CAN BRING COMFORT TO A FAMILY IN TRAUMA
YOU CAN RENEW HOPE FOR CHRISTIAN FAMILIES
€150
€60
Across the world, families are struggling - some have lost homes and livelihoods, others are grieving loved ones and many are simply trying to survive. In the middle of all this darkness, however, you can be the light someone is waiting for. You are not alone. Together, through Aid to the Church in Need, we can carry Christ’s Light to Ukraine, Gaza, Syria and all the darkest places of the world where He is most needed. OFFER A GIFT TODAY!
acnmalta.org/giftsoffaith suggested donation
€15
YOU CAN WRAP A CHILD IN WARMTH
suggestend donatio
suggested donation
€65
€38
YOU CAN HELP KEEP THE GOSPEL ALIVE
YOU CAN HELP CHILDREN FIND SAFETY AND HOPE
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