The Pontifical Foundation helps the Church in need (ACN) has expressed its joy for the choice of Pope Leo XIV and recalled that he worked with the new Pontiff when he was a bishop of the Peruvian diocese of Chiclayo.
“The new Pope is no stranger to his work: during his term as a bishop of Chiclayo, in Peru, from 2005 to 2013, the Pontifical Foundation was able to help him with multiple projects, especially in the formation of seminarists, missionaries and catechists, as well as with stipend of masses that were partly destined for missionaries who work in remote areas of the Andes,” said Acn.
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In that sense, the Secretary General of ACN, Philipp Ozores, said in a statement shared with ACI Prensa that the Foundation “expects to continue its service to the Universal Church, as well as the collaboration with Leo XIV, strengthening the Church where she is persecuted and more needy.”
The text also points out that “Leo XIV is the eighth Pope under which ACN will continue to serve the poor, fighter and persecuted church, since its foundation in 1947.”
“Although as a Pontifical Foundation, the successor of Pedro has always been spiritually united, this relationship was institutionalized in 2011 with Pope Benedict XVI, who raised ACN to the category of Pontifical Foundation,” he added.
In his statement, ACN also recalled the close relationship he had with Pope Francis, who supported “his initiatives several times, including women who had suffered terrorist violence and who had the support of the Pontifical Foundation.”
In addition, he supported “the world event ‘one million children praying the rosary’” and remained informed with the report of religious freedom prepared by ACN.
“More recently, Pope Francis agreed to receive participants in an international pilgrimage to Rome, but died only two weeks before the event was held,” he said.
ACN also informed that during 2024 “more than 40,000 priests allocated Mass, especially those who exercise their ministry in the most difficult conditions throughout the world.”
Eduardo Berdejo
Professional in Social Communication of the National University of San Marcos in Peru, I have more than 20 years of experience in Catholic digital journalism. As part of ACI Press, I have been sent to cover the trips of Pope Francis to Cuba, Mexico, Colombia and Peru, in addition to the Synod of Sinodality in the Vatican in 2023.