Over 1,000 benefactors of the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), from 23 different countries, will be participating in a pilgrimage to Rome, from 7-10 May 2025, within the context of the Jubilee that officially began with the opening of the Holy Door in St Peter’s Basilica, on 24 December 2024.
“The theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ resonates especially with our pontifical foundation, since it is the underlying reason for the work we do: to take hope to those places where God weeps,” says ACN President, Cardinal Mauro Piacenza. “ACN’s projects are a consolation for those places where the Church is persecuted, or most at need.”
Cardinal Piacenza highlights that this pilgrimage is a concrete way of experiencing the Jubilee in communion with the suffering Church, in honour of those Christians who continue to give up their lives out of love for Jesus Christ. “The most convincing testimony to this hope is provided by the martyrs, who renounced life itself here below, rather than betray their Lord,” the cardinal adds, quoting from Pope Francis’ bull inaugurating the Jubilee.
Regina Lynch, executive president of ACN International, explains that “the 2025 Jubilee is centred on hope, and hope was also a crucial issue for Pope Francis, and for us at ACN. With over 5,000projects every year, in 130 countries, our mission is to console and give material aid, but especially to provide hope to persecuted and discriminated Christians, and to Christian communities in grave need.”
In an act of communion with the universal Church, benefactors and members from the foundation’s 23 national offices, in union with ACN International, will jointly take part in this initiative to strengthen their faith and their commitment to the suffering Church. Although a private audience with the Holy Father had been originally scheduled, this and other events have been cancelled due to the upcoming conclave to elect a new Pontiff. Nonetheless, the foundation remains thankful for Pope Francis’ constant support and appreciation for its mission. “We know how deeply the Pope appreciated the efforts that our benefactors made to support the Church in Need,” says Lynch.
“Praying before his grave will strengthen us to renew our mission. As a pontifical foundation, we will also be praying to be at the disposal of the future Pope, as we have been since the first days of our work.”
The timing, however, means that the ACN pilgrimage will be in Rome for the election of the new Pope, a moment which is being met with great excitement by all.”
Witness of faith and hope
One of the highlights of this pilgrimage will take place on 8 May, in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran, where ACN International will be hosting a gathering to share first-hand accounts from some of the regions most badly affected by violence and religious persecution.
Among the speakers will be Father Bohdan Heleta, the Ukrainian priest who was held prisoner during the war, and Father Olivier Niampa, from the Diocese of Dori in Burkina Faso, who will share how Christians survive and keep the Faith in a region under constant threat of terrorism, as well as representatives from Syria and Lebanon, who will share their experience in the region, and the spiritual resilience of the Christians of the Middle East.
The pilgrimage will focus on the martyrs, “the most convincing witnesses of Christian hope”
On 9 May, ACN benefactors will participate an event in memory of the many Christians who, still today, suffer persecution and even give their lives for the Faith. “The martyr is the most convincing witness of Christian hope,” Cardinal Piacenza states.
The aim of the ACN-organised pilgrimage is not only to commemorate and accompany, but also to help participants undergo their own spiritual renewal. “Passing through the Holy Door is not an act of magic, but a gesture which implies meditation, prayer and conversion,” Cardinal Piacenza points out, referring to the symbolism of this act, which is deeply linked to the jubilee. “The true pilgrim recognises that he has been seduced by false idols – selfishness, pride, money – and wishes to be cured by God’s mercy. Therefore, crossing the threshold of the Holy Door becomes an act of love and humility,” he adds.
This spiritual side of the journey will conclude with the pilgrims crossing of the Holy Door in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major, with the recitation of a special prayer. “To touch the door with your hand constitutes an act of love, through which we can cross the threshold of our own lives, renewed through grace with greater confidence and hope,” Cardinal Piacenza concludes.
