The Executive President of ACN will be travelling to Venezuela following the tragic earthquakes that killed thousands of people. Regina Lynch will arrive in the country on Tuesday, July 7, to visit the dioceses most affected by the earthquakes, and to express the closeness of the charity to the local Church and to the communities hit by the tragedy. The earthquakes that shook northern Venezuela on June 24 left a wake of destruction in several regions of the country, especially in Caracas and La Guaira. To support the immediate response of the local Church, which is accompanying the affected families and attending to the most urgent needs, the foundation has approved an initial emergency aid package of 100,000 euros.
Solidarity and charism emphasized by the Executive President of ACN
Regina Lynch will be visiting both dioceses to hear first-hand about their needs and personally convey the spiritual and material support of the foundation. Regarding the core objective of her journey, she stated:
“We are now going to Venezuela to show in person that the local Church is not alone in the face of tragedy, to express our solidarity to the people who are suffering, and to bring them the messages of closeness of all our benefactors”.
Lynch stressed that ACN’s immediate institutional response is only possible thanks to the long-standing fidelity of thousands of benefactors in dozens of countries who, even in this crisis, want to remain close to the Venezuelan Church. She added:
“ACN’s benefactors have been very faithful during these long years of suffering in Venezuela, and now that the Church in Venezuela once more needs them to come to its aid, they have again responded to the call”.
The executive leader stressed that this active mobilization forms an integral part of the identity and charism of the foundation’s mission:
“This is what defines ACN’s benefactors. When there is a crisis, when there is a need, they step forward and show their generosity, not only with financial help, but also with their closeness and prayer to the suffering Church. I am deeply grateful to them”.
Extensive experience in disaster and conflict zones
Lynch, originally from Northern Ireland, has had first-hand experience of ACN’s international mission and the reality of suffering Churches worldwide since 1980. After working for several years leading the foundation’s project department, she became ACN International’s executive president in June 2023. This trip is not the first time she has directly represented the charity in visiting communities immediately after sudden crises or disasters:
“I have been to other places affected by disasters or sudden situations of war. I think, for example, of the invasion of the Nineveh Plain by ISIS in 2014, in Iraq, when we went there just a few days after it happened”.
“For us it is very important to show that ACN and its benefactors do not forget those who suffer. It is also important to be able to bear witness to the suffering and needs of those who are in the midst of these terrible tragedies”.
Despite the severe magnitude of the physical destruction, Lynch highlighted the exceptional strength of faith displayed by the Venezuelan people and the active presence of the local clergy among the affected population. She concluded by asking for prayers for her upcoming journey:
“Venezuela, despite this terrible earthquake, is blessed to have a people of faith and a Church that is very close to the population. And it is precisely there, even in the face of something that seems humanly insurmountable, that we find hope. We must remain hopeful that better times will come, and that this suffering will not be in vain”.
