About  Aid to the Church in Need

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is an international Catholic charity under papal jurisdiction, which yearly offers financial support to more than 10,000 projects worldwide. ACN supports the poor and persecuted churches with prayer, pastoral relief and material assistance. Help is given to refugees of all denominations.

Today this charity raises around $US 70 million dollars annually, which it distributes to the Church in need in 144 different countries around the world. Aid to the Church in Need has more than 600,000 benefactors around the world and they are kept informed about our work by our "Mirror" newsletter

The money we distribute comes entirely from private donations. We receive no public or official Church monies whatsoever.

Our Founder – Fr Werenfried van Straaten

Aid to the Church in Need was founded in 1947 by a Dutch Norbetine priest, Fr. Werenfried van Straaten. He lived to the ripe old age of 91 and died on the 31st of January 2003 after a short illness.

Fr Werenfried was known to many as the "Bacon Priest" due to his efforts after WWII to help keep alive 3,000 priests and over 6 million Catholics expelled from Eastern Europe into the protestant areas of West Germany. In those desperate years a campaign for bacon and other items was started to help relieve the sufferings of these refugees and 'rucksack priests' as Fr Werenfried called them.

Fr Werenfried was the Catholic Church's most successful beggar. Since 1947 he raised and gave away more than $(US)3 billion dollars to help the persecuted and menaced Church and to assist refugees fleeing from oppression.

 

Set up of the Australian Office

The Australian branch of Aid to the Church in Need was set up in 1963 by Fr. Christopher Coenen, O.Praem. a personal friend of Fr Werenfriend. In 1968 the Collignon family was asked to continue the work and have been doing so ever since.

National Director
Mr Phillip Collignon

Address
Shop 2
169 Annangrove Rd
Annangrove NSW 2156 Australia.

Postal Address
PO Box 6245
Blacktown DC NSW 2148 Australia
Ph/Fax: (02) 9679-1929
E-Mail: info@aidtochurch.org