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FAITH OF- 2013 12

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International Eucharistic Congress 2012 Commemorative Edition

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Aid to the Church in Need

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There is no greater priority than this: to enable the people of our time once more to encounter God, the God who speaks to us and shares His love so that we might have life in abundance. Pope Benedict XVI, Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini.

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Iconographer: Lucho Alvarez Location: Poor Clare Monastery, St. Damians, Simmonscourt

God, give us grace to accept with serenity the things that cannot be changed, Courage to change the things which should be changed, and the Wisdom to distinguish the one from the other. Living one day at a time, Enjoying one moment at a time, Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace, Taking, as Jesus did,

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This sinful world as it is, Not as I would have it, Trusting that You will make all things right, If I surrender to Your will, So that I may be reasonably happy in this life, And supremely happy with You forever in the next. Amen.

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Aid to the Church in Need

Contents

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Introduction - Fr. Martin Maria Barta . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................ 2 I Hear Your Voice – Prayers for Altar Servers ............................................... 3 Good News, Via the Written Word - Religious literature ................................ 4 Syria - Looking into the Eyes of the Refugees .............................................. 5

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Good News in Sound and Picture - Media . . . . ................................................ 6

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Three Milestones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ................................................ 8

St. Alexius - Confessor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............................................... 14 Bless Peter Adrian Toulorge - Priest, Martyr . ............................................... 18

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ANNUAL REPORT 2011

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Images from IEC 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ............................................... 22

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Editor: Jürgen Liminski. Publisher: Kirche in Not / Ostpriesterhilfe, Postfach 1209, 61452 Königstein, Germany. De licentia competentis auctoritatis ecclesiasticae. Printed in Ireland - ISSN 0252-2535. www.acn-intl.org

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Dear Friends,

in simple tales and parables – that children too can understand Him. One little girl from Mexico told her teacher, “My grandma reads me a Bible story every evening at bedtime and explains it to me. I find that much more beautiful than television.” And one boy, who was allowed to take “his” copy of the Child’s Bible home with him, commented, “Such a beautiful book. Such beautiful stories. I have told God that I want to become a missionary, so I can tell people about His words.”

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Thanks to your generosity, we are able to celebrate something of a landmark event this year – the printing of the 50 millionth copy of our ACN Child’s Bible,God speaks to His children. From 1979 onwards this colourful little illustrated Bible booklet, so popular with children, has been distributed in 140 countries around the world. It has also been translated into no fewer than 172 different local languages – like Konkomba in Ghana, Mapudungun in Chile and Tetum in East Timor – so that the Word of God is reaching the littlest and the poorest of God’s children in the most far-flung corners of the earth. For many of them this children’s Bible is the only book they have ever possessed, and Jesus has spoken so simple faith certainly the only one 3 children too The 1that simply 0 of children can get 2 they have been able to - understand Him. straight to the heart can 2 read in their very own 1 of the deepest words mother tongue. As one African bishop said to us, “Man needs and mysteries of God, and actually live bread in order to be able to live, but he them in practice. In the Scriptures Jesus also needs the Word of God in order to often remains hidden from the “wise and learned of this 1 world”, yet reveals want to live.” Himself to simple hearts. Saint Seraphim In the Holy Scriptures Jesus reveals of Sarov (1759-1833), one of the most Himself to us as the living Word of God, revered saints of Russia, already lamented who is Truth and eternal Life. That is why the situation in his own day, saying, “In Saint Jerome tells us that “ignorance of our days the holy faith has grown so I the indifference towards the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ”. lukewarmPand soO great. We have strayed far, very M I L L I God Although Jesus, the Word of God, remains C N O unfathomable for us in the fullness of far, from the true Christian life. That is His depth, yet He has spoken to us so why so many of the words of the Sacred simply – in images drawn from nature, Scriptures have become quite strange to

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us. This incomprehension springs from the fact that, through supposed enlightenment, we have slipped into such darkness of ignorance that the things the ancients still so clearly understood are unfathomable to us today.” Dear friends, let us ask the Holy Spirit to unlock the Holy Scriptures for us, which are addressed, like a love-letter from

God, to each one of us individually, so that our hearts too may burn with love for God and for our neighbour. My grateful blessing on you all,

Fr. Martin Maria Barta Ecclesiastical Assistant

I Hear Your Voice – Prayers for Altar Servers “Lord, teach us to pray”, the disciples asked Jesus. And He taught them. So prayer is something that also has to be learnt. In Merida, Venezuela, Sister Teresita Medina has compiled a book for this very purpose; it is intended for children and Mass servers. Section 24 is entitled “I hear your voice” and it runs like this: “Lord, I read in the Gospel how you said to a little girl: Get up! And the little girl got up and walked about. Today I sense that you are also telling me to get up – whenever someone needs me,when I have to do my homework, when I must come to the lessons for altar servers, when I should be helping at home, when I ought to forgive somebody. Jesus, help me to hear your voice in such moments, when you are saying tome too: Young man, get up! Amen.”

“Prayer for Disciples” slips easily into a trouser pocket. But “Disciples and Servants” is more suited to a school satchel.

In 71 short sections, the booklet guides us through the day. Through it thousands of young people are learning how to pray. You can help them to discover a listening heart – and for many, perhaps, a vocation as well. •

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Good News, Via the Written Word The Gospel, the Good News – even the very first Pope appealed to his fellow Christians in these words: “Always be prepared to make a defence to any one who calls you to account for the 3 201This hope that is in you” (1 Pet 3:15). of course presupposes both 12knowledge of the message and the willingness to proclaim it.

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drastic loss of teaching opportunity and community solidarity. We are funding half the cost of the machinery.

AITH F F The most important liturgical book is

But then the printing costs soared. Now the alternative is a stark one – either obtain their own printing machinery, or suffer a

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the full Roman Missal, and one of the most important decisions of the Second Vatican Council was to authorise the celebration of the Liturgy, and above all Holy Mass, in the vernacular. This has led From Saint Peter onwards, so many to a new flourishing of evangelisation. In popes have done the same thing, right Ukraine this was not possible until after down to the present day. The mission- 1991. But what value are Christians to ary imperative that is contained in the place on the dignity of Holy Mass? The expression “Good News” requires an elements required for a good altar Missal appropriate means of dissemination, do not come cheap – good quality paper, above all where the conditions of life are placemark ribbons, binding and backing difficult. In the northeast of Zimbabwe, (by hand),P Icover material, the printing O the transport costs to the M I L L I itself; for example, in the diocese of Chinhoyi, Cthen N O where the 100,000-plus Catholics live parishes. Or should they be expected widely scattered across the region instead to celebrate Holy Mass from and cannot afford to travel, a newslet- scraps of paper? ACN is helping – so that ter was for many years the principal the Liturgy can be fittingly celebrated in means of communication among them. every single parish. It not only conveyed news about the life of the diocese but also provided teaching material for the catechists.

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Zimbabwe. Printing texts for Holy Mass, and for the community.

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There is a need for Bibles in the mother tongue, for catechetical books and writings, theological books for seminaries… Indeed, “all the baptised, since they are witnesses of Christ, should receive a training appropriate to their circumstances” (Blessed John Paul II). The will is there, but the means are often lacking. That is where we come in. •

Pakistan. A profound knowledge of the faith is vital, above all for a beleaguered minority. Hence the need for bookshops, like this one, and Bibles in their native Urdu.

Syria – Looking into the Eyes of the Refugees The Maronite Archbishop of Damascus, Samir Nassar, has seen many refugees come and go in the last few months. Looking into their eyes, he can read the drama now facing the Christians in Syria. Their gaze is “abject, and they do not speak”. Or sometimes mutely questioning: “Why me? What have I done? Why my family, my house? Where are my friends, my neighbours,my school,my church,my cemetery?” In many eyes there is a mixture of appeal and accusation: “I am innocent,why am I being punished and for what? Nobody tried to stop the massacre, nobody helped us…” Sometimes again there is resignation and surrender: “I can do no more; now I am poor and dependent on others. Thank you for all that you

have done for me. Thy will be done.” But in the eyes of many, for all the misery of life as refugees, the Archbishop can also see the strength of Faith: “The Lord will not abandon me.” And he raises his eyes to the crucified Lord in his chapel and asks,“Lord, for over a year now a merciless struggle has been raging. You have sent us Your children, but now we ourselves have nothing left to give. How are we to bear this responsibility?” We have immediately promised emergency aid to the Christians in Syria. But it can only be a beginning.

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Good News in Sound and Picture “Ignorance is the worst enemy of our Faith”, said Blessed John Paul II. The media make it possible to transmit and proclaim the knowledge of the faith. They can help to promote dialogue about the values of a society. The electronic media play a special role here, since they carry an immediate and emotional impact. This was what the Catholic production company Buena Nueva Comunicacion has set out to achieve – and on an international level – from its base in Rosario, in Argentina. It is aiming to produce a TV

Uganda. Radio Wa continues to call the child soldiers home.

“Radio is a means of evangelisation.” series about the family, for distribution across the entire continent, and it also has the blessing of the Latin American bishops. The underlying themes of the series have a universal validity and include India. Priests and laity at the Niscort Institute, learning to speak on camera.

Guatemala. Battling on the airwaves against the inundation of the sects.

such things as the value of life and human dignity: What is love? Why marry? How to live faithfully? Why suffering? Why is the family so much under attack in our modern society? Through positive examples, though without preachiness, the series seeks to give the Christian answer to these questions, to place the Good News in context. TV productions like this are expensive. We are contributing €20,000. That

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Chad. Radio Effata invites all to open their ears to the word of God.

works out at one Euro for every thousand viewers at the least – it would be hard to get better value for money than this in bringing Christian values to television.

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everybody has a radio. Thus, for the 10% or so of Catholics in Guinea-Bissau, Radio Sol is the most effective means of communication, and also of dialogue with the 40% who are Muslims and the 50% who are adherents of pagan, animist religions. Radio is often used to tell us about our world; Radio Sol is being used to tell about the Catholic world. And it is finding an appreciative response. We are supporting the bishop and his team with a contribution, from which he will also take a small sum for the religious formation of journalists.

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In Cambodia, once a veritable Golgotha of I the killing P fields, the Church is slowly rising O M I L L I again O N Cfrom the ruins. “Radio is a means of Other countries, like Guinea-Bissau in West evangelisation”, writes the apostolic vicar Africa, or Cambodia in Southeast Asia, in Phnom Penh. “And people are listening face a very different situation however. to it”. • Here no more than a tiny minority have access to television or Internet, but almost

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Ukraine. The Word, spoken on air – via Radio Resurrection. And millions are listening, thanks to your help.

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A LOOK IN THE

A Chairde,

AITHStudents of Church history will point out F F that the pilgrim Church on earth is ever

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To confront these crises and this tyranny, ‘new methods and new forms of expression are needed to convey… the perennial truth of Jesus Christ.’1 Also needed of course is ‘a renewed dynamism in the I Christian community (and)… renewed misP Oactivity… given the large number sionary C L L I OofNpeople who do not know Jesus Christ.’2 Essentially then the Church today requires authentic and public witnesses to the Faith who are able to effectively communicate the joy of being Catholic through their thoughts, through their words and through their deeds.

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To further promote authentic Church renewal as well as to mark the 50th Anniversary of the commencement of the Second Vatican Council, Pope Benedict has proclaimed 2013 to be a ‘Year of Faith’ (October 11, 2012 to November 24, 2013), a year which will commence MI with the XIII Ordinary General Assembly

in need of purification and renewal. However there are times when those needs are acutely felt and we live in such times, post-modern times, times characterised by a crisis of truth, a crisis of God and a tyranny of Relativism.

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Undoubtedly the recentlyconcluded 50th International Eucharistic Congress with its 3 theme, ‘Communion with Christ- and 201with one another’ will be recognised 12 as a significant milestone in the ongoing process of renewing the Church in Ireland, in the West and in the World.

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of the Synod of Bishops on the theme: ‘The new evangelization for the transmission of the Christian faith’ (October 7 – October 28, 2012). By any objective criterion Christ’s Church is being purified and renewed not only for these times but for all times.

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Fr. Gerard Cusack (ACN Ecclesiastical Assitant) with Fr. Michael Shields at the Eucharistic Congress in the RDS.

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In this regard it is serves us well to recall that the Second Vatican Council drew our attention to the fact that each of us, through our Baptism is sent into the world to be a ‘Light to the World.’3 Each of us is required to be missionaries in our everyday lives and throughout our lives, within

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The Mask of Sorrow and Remembrance “People died by the tens, hundreds and thousands. In their place always came new silent slaves, who laboured for some food, a piece of bread.

Church of the Nativity, Magadan, Russia.

Fr. Michael Shields.

Fr. Michael Shields In 1992 American priest Father Michael Shields left the cold clime of Alaska for the equally freezing temperatures of the town of Magadan in the Kolyma region of Siberia. In prayer, Father Michael, of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, felt he was being called: “Go, live in the camps” - the former Gulags where “enemies of the state” were sent under communism. He was determined that this suffering would never be forgotten and that yesterday’s culture of death along with today’s culture of abortion would give way to an authentic culture of life.

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They died and they were quietly buried. No one had a burial service for them, no family or friends paid their last respects. They did not even dig graves for them, but rather dug a communal trench and tossed the naked bodies in the snow and when spring came, wild animals tore apart their bones. We, who managed to survive, mourned them. We believe that the Lord accepted the martyrs into the heavenly kingdom.” May their souls and the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace, Amen.

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most vulnerable, the most alienated, the dispossessed. Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) was established in 1947 to help the Church bring hope and healing to a broken and desperate world and especially to where healing is most in need: those darkest of situations, ‘Where God Weeps’, those places where God’s children have experienced and are experiencing the greatest material and spiritual poverty.

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our families, amongst our friends, within 1 our communities and out into the world. Each of us is mandated to share the Good News, the Good News which heals, the Good News which reconciles, the Good News which saves. This ‘call to Holiness’ and mission applies not just to some of us but to all of us.

As conceived the Child’s Bible is meant to encourage children in their Faith – not least in those countries where Christians are a beleaguered and impoverished minority facing hostility, violence and persecution, as unfortunately is the case today in not a few Islamic countries, such as Pakistan where all Christians are treated as second-class citizens.

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The Mother Teresa Exhibition included in the ACN Stand at the RDS during the Eucharistic Congress.

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It was within this over-arching mission, that in 1979 Father Werenfried Van Straaten, founder of Aid to the Church in Need responded to John Paul II’s urging to bring the Word of God to children suffering extreme poverty all over the world, (children ‘so poor that they cannot afford any book’) by producing a Child’s bible ‘God speaks to His children’.

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Thus it has been that throughout Church History, no small number of terrible sinners have become great saints through Impoverished P I Christians in Nigeria are O C ms of religious violence and perGod’s grace and their heroic effM orts also I L to N victi L I O make manifest Caritas in Veritate (Char- secution. Referring to the sad fact that ity in the Truth), God’s love for a fallen some Nigerian Christians have responded and broken world, God’s love for ‘the in kind to such violence, Archbishop Ignaleast of His people’, the weakest, the tius Kaigama of Jos remarked that ‘it is an

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of life and hope for the longsuffering and impoverished children and people of the Sudan: ‘his book is a great help in our pastoral work. Our people, our children, are literally thirsting for the saving Word of God – especially during these times of relentless oppression.’

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The Archbishop is in no doubt 1 that Christians need to read the Holy Scriptures frequently and anyone who does so, will themselves be guided inexorably by the Word of God and empowered to positively contribute to authentic political, social and economic advancement of society. Archbishop Kaigama is also in no doubt that ‘the Bible belongs in every home’ and that Joy and Peace will prevail when the Word of God is heard within the heart of all God’s children of all ages and every age.

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unfortunate reality that even people who share the Word and the Eucharist sometimes take up arms and this is a cause for shame.’ 13

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In order to make the Child’s Bible as widely available to as many people as possible, ACN continues to translate ‘God speaks to His Children’ into more and more languages. These now include Arabic, and other major languages current in Islam-dominated states or countries with I a high percentage of Muslims – e.g. Sindhi P O in Pakistan, M I L L I and C Urdu Hausa, Igbo, Tiv and N O Bishop Deng Majak Rudolf of Wau, in Yoruba in Nigeria, and Toposa in Sudan. To Sudan agrees. For him the Child’s Bible date the Child’s bible has been translated plays no small role in building a culture into more than 170 local languages.

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The Child’s bible is a concrete missionary resource, a resource which Aid to the Church in Need distributes freely to all the poorest Churches of the universal Church. It is a service which Aid to the Church in Need undertakes with great joy and in the knowledge that God does indeed speak to His Children of all ages, at all times, indeed He speaks freely and He speaks personally to you and me.

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So it is that every time each of us takes a moment, to listen to the Word of God and to allow ourselves to be transformed by what we hear, we become more fully human, we become more and more that person whom we were created to be. 11 25/06/2012 16:10


port of our benefactors Aid to the Church in Need quietly goes about it daily work and noble mission of ‘carrying water’ to the ‘labourers in the Lord’s vineyards’ and especially to those who labour in the toughest of places and in the most difficult of times.

The ACN Stand at the RDS during the Eucharistic Congress.

This is, I think, the key understanding which underpins Archbishop Kaigama’s call to place ‘a bible in every home’. This too is the understanding, which over the past 33 years, has motivated Aid to the Church in Need to place the Child’s bible into the hands of 50 million of the poorest and most persecuted of the world’s children and in so doing helped Catholic missionaries the world over to open the eyes of the dispossessed to a universe of love and the prospect of eternal happiness. By the grace of God and the generous sup-

In this edition of the Mirror, a brief overview of the ACN exhibition at the International Eucharistic Congress is provided as a memento of this significant milestone in the life of the church both locally and universally. Beannachtaí daoibh go léir

J F Declan Quinn Please visit

www.godspeakstohischildren.org

1 Preface to the Instrumentum Laboris of the XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops: ‘The new evangelization for the transmission of the Christian faith’ 2 Ibid. 3 Dogmatic Consitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium, (Light of the World) November 21, 1964, paragraph 41.

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Fr. Ragheed Ganni greets Fr Werenfried van Straaten in Rome.

Demonstration against the violence against Christians in Iraq.

Fr. Ragheed Ganni In 2007, aged just 35, Father Ragheed Ganni was gunned down, along with three sub-deacons, by armed men as he left his church in Mosul after saying Mass. He had refused to bow to extremist pressure to close the church. Father Ragheed chose to return to Iraq from his studies in Rome. He wanted to serve his people through an ever-worsening crisis as extremists targeted Mosul’s Christians in a campaign of fear, intimidation and murder. A dear friend paid tribute to Father Ragheed, writing: “You have died so that Christ would be raised up in you despite the sufferings and sorrows, despite the chaos and despite the madness.”

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aint lexius

Confessor

he life of St. Alexius parallels the biblical story of the Prodigal Son found in the gospel of Luke. Some of what we know about this man is fact – and some of what we know is legend. Much of the legend could very well be true though as the story and veneration of St. Alexius has been brought to us via the oral tradition primarily in the 9th and 10th centuries.

Since he traveled to Syria and died a beggar, he is a patron for pilgrims and beggars. He is also a patron of nurses, belt makers and travelers. In Christian art St. Alexius is represented as wearing ragged clothing and/or as a man lying underneath stairs. Under the date of July 17, in the Roman Martyrology, it is said of St. Alexius,”At Rome, in a church on the Aventine Hill, a man of God is celebrated under the name of Alexius, who, as reported by tradition, abandoned his wealthy home, for the sake of becoming poor and to beg for alms unrecognised.”

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Upon his death from hunger and neglect, his family found a note on his body that revealed his true identity. It also told how since the day of his arranged marriage, he lived for God and God alone.

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The Story of St. Alexius St. Alexius was the son of a wealthy Roman who was of the senatorial class. There is a 3 church dedicated to St. Alexius in Rome 01that 2 was built on the site of his father’s mansion. 2 The parents of Alexius arranged1a marriage for him – but on day of the wedding ceremony, Alexius fled this arranged marriage and left everyone in his wealthy home, including bride, family, household and all in attendance to follow God.

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church and to teach catechism to children. He always shared his alms with his fellow poor. Legend has it that a vision or image of Our Lady revealed to some townspeople that this beggar was indeed very holy and that he was a “Man of God.”

The Catholic Encyclopedia article regarding St. Alexius states: “Perhaps the only basis for the story is the fact that a certain pious ascetic at Edessa lived the life of a beggar and was later venerated as a saint.”

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He went as a pilgrim to an area near Edessa in Syria where he ministered to the poor and the sick. He lived in poverty as a beggar near a church dedicated to Our Lady. After many long years he returned to his father’s house in The Early History I of the Congregation P Rome and due to the time of his absence and of the Alexian O Brothers M I Ldid total change of appearance, his own father LIO N C not recognise him. Since his father was a ChrisThe Alexian Brothers ministry began in the tian man, he accepted this beggar man into his Middle Ages, as Europe slowly emerged from house out of pity and provided him shelter. For centuries of ignorance and superstition. In seventeen years Alexius lived as a beggar under the Low Countries and along the Rhine, small the stairs in a darkened corner of his father’s groups of men and women banded together to house. He would venture out only to pray in carry out Christ’s commands. They would tend

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Congregation of Alexian Brothers The Crest of the Congregation of the Alexian Brothers The shield of the Congregation is divided into three fields with each field symbolically representing one facet of the work of the Institute. The upper half shows on a red background the Pelican nourishing its young with her heart’s blood - a symbol of the self-consuming sacrifice of Christian Charity. The two spades on the black background, in the lower half, is a remembrance of a former activity of the Alexian Brothers in burying the dead in time of calamity. The flying raven on a silver-gray background represents the feeding of the destitute, a virtue the Congregation has practiced for centuries. From the back of the shield projects the cross, indicating that in the cross is salvation. Inscribed on the band are the words of St. Paul:

“The Love of Christ Compels Us”

The Charism of the Alexian Brothers Reflecting the life of St Alexius, the charism of the Alexian Brothers is the prophetic and daring response of a faith community to the gospel of Jesus. It is a charism which is rooted in prayer and simple life style. In discipleship with Jesus, the Alexian response involves reaching out to the poor, sick and dying, especially the marginalised and the powerless. It is a charism which calls every Alexian to daily conversion and total self-giving in continuing the healing and reconciling mission of Jesus in collaboration with others. “At the end of my life, I hope others will say, ‘He did an awful lot of good for a lot of people.’”

“Everyone looks like Jesus to me”

Philip Kennedy, Alexian Brother, June 10, 1928 – May 2, 2012

Dunstan O’Neill, Alexian Brother, October 1, 1921 – May 12, 1984

Alexian Brothers Community Churchfield, Knock, Co. Mayo, Ireland Phone 094 9376996 Email stalexius@eircom.net

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the sick, feed the hungry and bury the dead. In the 12th Century these were dangerously unorthodox activities. Most people, out of fear, shunned the sick and dying, forcing them outside the city gates, to subsist on the leavings of the more fortunate.

In 1346, the Black Death struck Europe. Between 30% and 60% of the continent’s population is estimated to have been killed by the Plague and the very foundations of European society were under-minded. Family ties became worthless as the healthy fled in terror from their stricken kin. The Brothers however remained, risking their lives, to nurse the victims of the plague, to care for them and bury them when they died.

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The first written account of the Brothers is dated 1259 in a document referring to the Beguines and Beghards. The name of these communities evolved from the word “Algignese” which means “heretics.” These communes 3of 201upon celibate men and women were looked as unorthodox or heretical because 12 of the type of life they lived. Gradually, these communes became more organised. By the middle of the 13th century, many received support from the Franciscan order. But some among them maintained their independence. It was from these handful of dedicated laymen along the Rhine that the Congregation of the Alexian Brothers grew.

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The world and the work of the Alexian Brothers like the saint from whom they have taken their name is focused upon providing joyful service of healing, hospitality and witness “in communion with Christ and with one another” to a broken world, a world in need of God’s love, “Caritas Christi.”

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oor lare isters

Come and See! Dearest Jesus, Teach me to be generous; Teach me to love and serve You as You deserve; To give and not count the cost; To fight and not heed the wounds; To toil and not to seek for rest; To labour and to look for no reward Save that of knowing that I do Your Holy Will.

www.poor-clares.com/drumshanbo www.pcdamians.ie

St Ignatius of Loyola

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800 Years of Communion with Christ and with one Another

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lessed eter drian oulorge Priest, Martyr

eter-Adrian Toulorge was born on May 4, 1757 at Muneville-le-Bingard in Normandy, France. The same day he also received his Baptism. He was the third child of Julien Toulorge and Julienne Hamel, who had a small family farm. Peter-Adrian grew up and received his early education in the diocese of Coutances, an area filled with faithful Catholics who regularly participated in the sacramental life of the church. The diocese produced many vocations including Peter-Adrian who entered the diocesan seminary in Coutances at the age 3 1the of 19 after being tutored in Latin by one0of 2 assistant priests and after completing general 12at the age of studies and philosophy. In 1782 25 he was ordained a priest and assigned as assistant curate in Doville, a parish of about 600 whose parish priest was a 44 year old, methodical and zealous Norbertine canon named Father James-Francis Le Canuthe. The parish had many members whose maritime profession had suffered much from the effects of the American Revolutionary War. The majority of parishioners lived in poverty. Peter-Adrian and his parish priest dedicated much of their efforts to helping them.

receive him into the Order to which he was admitted and given the white habit of the Norbertines. Since the abbey had no novitiate of its own, Peter-Adrian was sent to the abbey in Beauport, Brittany. In 1788 at the age of 31 Canon Toulorge returned to the abbey in Blanchelande and made his religious profession. He ministered to surrounding parishes and gained a reputation as a fine preacher.

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In January of 1789, King Louis XVI convened a general assembly in Versailles. Soon, the events took a revolutionary turn and in a daring coup, the Constituent Assembly seised power. Having Voltairian tendencies the Assembly enacted several anti-Church acts. They abolished monastic orders and seised their properties and assets, putting them up for sale. In 1790, the National Assembly promulgated the Civil Constitution of the Clergy. This unjust act placed the Church in France under the civil authority. Bishops and pastors were to be elected by the people; the Holy See was stripped of all authority. Bishops, priests, and curates were required to swear an oath of allegiance and fidelity to the Civil Constitution. Refusal could mean being stripped of their offices and being faced with criminal prosecution. A year later, Pope Pius VI condemned this Civil Constitution and forbade the clergy from taking this ridiculous oath. Unfortunately many priests had taken the oath out of fear, ambition and ignorance of the Pope’sI condemnation. However, when P clergy learned of the Pope’s many ofOthe M C I Peter frequently visited the nearby L NorN they courageously retracted their oath L I Ostand, bertine abbey in Blanchelande that was to the Civil Constitution. founded in the twelfth century by St. Norbert himself. The Premonstratensian Order (or In 1792, the anti-Church revolutionary Norbertines) focuses on pastoral ministry and government passed a law that called for the communal celebration of the Divine Office. deportation of public service priests who had Peter-Adrian asked the Prior of the abbey to not taken the oath. Hatred of religion and the

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The Order of Prémontré The White Canons, the Norbertines, are called to be living examples of the ‘Community of God’ spreading the Good News of God’s Love for humanity’. Blessed Peter Adrian Toulorge (beatified on 29th April 2012), on the night before he was martyred in post-revolutionary France exemplifies this calling in a letter to his brother Jean Baptiste. 12th October 1793 My dear brother , Rejoice, for tomorrow you will have another friend in Heaven watching over you – I hope – if God preserves me, as he has until now. Rejoice that God has deemed me fit to suffer not only prison, but even death for Our Lord Jesus Christ; it is the greatest grace He could possibly give me; I will pray that He might give you a similar crown. We should not attach ourselves to perishable things. Turn therefore your gaze towards Heaven; live life as an honest man, and most importantly, as a good Christian; raise your children in the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic and Roman faith, outside of which there is no salvation. Always consider it the greatest honour to have had a brother in the family who has been called to suffer for God. Far from being sorrowful about my fate, rejoice instead and say with me: “Blessed be God!” I wish you a holy life and paradise at the end of your days, not only to you but also to my sister, to my nephew and niece, and to all my family. I remain always, in perfect friendship, your brother, Peter Adrian.

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clergy was reaching an all-time high. Clergy who had remained in France or who returned from exile could be subject to a death sentence. Hundreds of priests left en masse to go into exile, and Fr. Toulorge was among them. He spent five weeks with 500 of his confreres from the diocese of Coutances as a penniless 0 13 2 exile on the nearby Anglo-Norman 2 island of Jersey. While there, a fellow 1priest pointed out that Fr. Toulorge had mistakenly misinterpreted the scope of the banishment law and that technically the law had not applied to him, however, since he had left, returning at this stager would indeed put him at odds with the law. Fr. Toulorge, knowing the extreme shortage of priests now in France, decided to secretly return, hoping the authorities would not have even noticed his departure.

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the Missal. He did this in great danger as the civil authorities offered rewards to anyone who reported the whereabouts of priests like Fr. Toulorge. Revolutionary clubs were constantly on the man-hunt for “illegal” clergy.

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One September evening, a woman saw a wet and muddy vagabond appear suddenly from the thicket. The woman, in charity, invited the vagabond to her home and lit the fire to warm the tired beggar-man. As they talked and a mutual trust was won, the vagabond revealed his true identity; it was Fr. Toulorge himself. The woman also then revealed that she was in fact a Benedictine nun named Sr. Saint-Paul who’d been driven into exile from the Revolution. The next day Sr. Saint-Paul, who’d again donned her disguise, led Fr. Toulorge, now disguised also as a woman, to a he’d be safer there. Fr. Toulorge returned to France and for neighbour’s house P I by,hoping walked some workers noticed Fr. almost a year, went underground, moving As they O M sayN C men’s shoes and stockings and from place to place and house to house,I L L I OToulorge’s ing Masses, administering the sacraments and notified the Revolutionary Guards, in hopes to encouraging the people in their faith. Often he claim a reward. Fr. Toulorge was hiding in the went from village to village in disguise, evading upstairs attic when the Guards pounded open the notice of the civil authorities. Fr. Toulorge the door. They searched the house from top celebrated Mass in makeshift vestments and to bottom. Fr. Toulorge had hidden himself he read prayers from hand made copies from under piles of flax. The Guards even stabbed at the piles with their bayonets but missed hitting the hiding priest. As they left the house, one of the Guards doubled back and there discovered Fr. Toulorge as he was emerging from his hiding place. He was immediately arrested.

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Two days later, Fr. Toulorge was taken to the district director to be put on trial. In order to save his life, Fr. Toulorge denied the fact that he had in fact been out of France in exile and had returned to serve his people. The district judges, confused on what to do with him, then sent him to another court in Coutances. While in prison awaiting his appearance before 20 +e512ei_print.indd 24

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the new court, Fr. Toulorge was bothered by his earlier denial that he’d left and returned to France. He felt remorse for not stating the truth. He contemplated the words of Jesus who said, “Let your yes be yes and your no be no” – (Mt. 5:37) On September 8, the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Fr. Toulorge confessed to the court that he had indeed been in Jersey and had secretly returned to France. He was immediately put back in prison. Two weeks later, Fr. Toulorge faced a hearing before a commission to determine if the priest should be declared an exile. Some in the commission hoped to save the priest’s life and even advised him to remain silent or to retract his confession, as this could indeed save him from the guillotine. After being declared an exile, Fr. Toulorge was then sent to a criminal court for sentencing. Again, sympathetic 3 officials in the criminal court hoped to 01save 2 Fr. Toulorge’s life and advised him to remain 2 silent. When questioned in the1criminal court, Fr. Toulorge did not remain silent and wholeheartedly confessed to having spent time after leaving France, on the English island of Jersey. His Catholic witness to the truth, and the whole truth, gave the court no choice but to sentence the honest priest to death.

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blessing. October 12, 1793, the evening before my marytrdom.” On Sunday morning, October 13th, Fr. Toulorge rose in good spirits, ate breakfast as usual, prayed his breviary, before he asked one of his fellow prisoners to fix his hair and cut his beard. In the end he asked his confreres to sing Vespers with him. At the beginning of Compline, during the second to the last verse of the hymn “GRATES PERACTO JAM DIE” he closed his breviary and cried out full of joy,

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“My dear friends let us stop here, for I will soon be gratefully singing the end of this hymn in heaven… My dear brothers, I will not forget you; I ask God to watch over you. I am praying for all my benefactors, friends, and even my enemies.”

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His confreres knelt down and asked for his blessing during which a heavenly joy shone from his face. According to an eyewitness, the guillotine was placed in front of the house of the mayor of Coutances. The crowd was speechless with emotion as they beheld this young priest who went to his death filled with such inner peace. Just before the execution Fr. Peter-Adrian said: “My God, I place my life After the verdict was read, silence filled the in Your hands! I pray for the restoration and court room. Fr. Toulorge broke the silence by preservation of Your Holy Church. Forgive my exclaiming “Deo Gratias! Thanks be to God! enemies.” After the execution the hangman May God’s will – not mine be done!” Adieu grabbed the Ibloody head by the hair and held Messieurs, until Eternity, if you make your- it up to show O P the people. It was 4:30. His body M C I L L I Owas selves worthy of it”! N taken to the cemetery of St. Peter in a cart.

S I H SP O T Tourlorge’s The night before his death he wentE to A con-K S Fr. people of Cotentin have fession and, while all the other inmates slept, named him the “Martyr for Truth” and on the

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he wrote three deeply touching letters – to his brother, to a friend, and to an unknown woman – to which he added, “I wish you God’s

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29th of April 2012 Fr. Peter Adrian Toulorge was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI.

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A selection images celebrating the success that was

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Dear Friends, Charity unites us – under this slogan the Catholic Church in Cuba has been preparing for the past three years for a major jubilee. 400 years ago in the Bay of Nipe, a small wooden image of Our Lady was discovered by three young men, floating on the waves, yet bone dry. She became known as the Virgin of Charity and was brought to the town of El Cobre. Today Our Lady of El Cobre is the trademark image of the Cuban Church, a symbol of the fidelity and the renaissance of this Church after more than half a century of communist oppression. We too are united in charity. Throughout the world we find oppressed and suffering Christians, on the margins of history; penniless but faithful believers, people with empty hands but a smile of hope. Many address their appeals to us and thanks to your generosity we are able to help them. You, the benefactors of ACN, and we, humble assistants in the

Johannes Freiherr Heereman, Executive President of ACN International

J F Declan Quinn, National Director ACN (Irl)

Vineyard of the Lord, are together striving to be faithful to the call of charity. “For whatsoever you have done to the least of My brethren, you have done to Me.” And for the fact that, despite the worldwide financial crisis, we are still in a position to ‘administer’ your continuing generosity, I give you my heartfelt thanks. On the reverse of this page you will find the figures that express your generous sacrifice in dry statistics and diagrams. But real human stories often underlie these bare figures. For example, a priest in Zambia whom you supported with a scholarship, writes “I thank you very much for funding my two years of study in the pastoral theology of the sick in Rome. This course of study has opened my eyes to the double mission of the Church, that of prayer and of healing, for the sick. Back in my diocese I am preparing a project for the training of priests, religious and carers of AIDS victims.” Very often the pastoral and humanitarian aspects are inextricably linked. Another priest, from Nigeria this

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time, whom you helped by funding a roof for his chapel, couched his request in these terms: “The only thing that is holding back the violence in our region today is the Good News of Jesus Christ. With this chapel we are promoting the spread of this message.” And a third priest, from Malawi, described his urgent need for a vehicle: “The road to the outstation passes through the jungle and here we often encounter wild beasts and poisonous snakes. These are a danger not only to my life as a priest but to my human life as well.” In Africa, Latin America, Asia and Eastern Europe – in 145 different countries in fact – you are showing the world the healing power of charity, of merciful love. But the Church is also in need on our very doorstep. The new evangelisation is a pressing need of our time and one that the Holy Father himself has called on us to address. In this spirit you have already helped to fund a gift from the Pope to young people. At the World Youth Day in Madrid last year some

A LOOK IN THE +e512ei_print.indd 29

700,000 young people received a free copy of the new youth catechism, YOUCAT in their welcome pack. These are just a few examples of your generosity. Geographically, our priorities will continue to include Africa and the Middle East, and spiritually, the training of priests, seminarians and catechists, the support of religious sisters, the family apostolate and the renovation of churches and chapels. Through the “institutional re-foundation” (Benedict XVI) of ACN as a pontifical foundation, the organisational structures are now in place for a still speedier and more effective delivery of this aid. But “those who give only money, give too little” as Pope Benedict says. The persecuted and needy Church also needs your prayers. So please keep them up! Yours in profound gratitude.

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+jb2011-ei 15.06.2012 11:20 Seite 2 +jb2011-ei 15.06.2012 11:20 Seite 2 +jb2011-ei

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Income Individual donations Income

Seite 2

% %59.5 %

€ 48,917,815 € 9,847,387 48,917,815 € 20,360,155 9,847,387 48,917,815 676,576 20,360,155 9,847,387 2,286,794 676,576 20,360,155 82,088,727 676,576 2,286,794 150,788 2,286,794 82,088,727 82,239,515 82,088,727 150,788 150,788 82,239,515 82,239,515

Massdonations Offerings Individual Income MassLegacies Offerings Individual Collections donations Legacies Mass Offerings Other donations / income Collections Legacies Total income Collections Other donations / income Net-Financial Income Other donations / income Total income Total Total income Net-Financial Income Net-Financial Income Total Total

59.512.0 % % % 24.8 % 12.0 % % % % % %

59.5 % 0.8 24.8 % 12.0 % 2.7 24.80.8 % % 0.82.7 %99.8 % 2.7 % 0.2 99.8 % 99.8 100.0 % 0.2 % 0.2 % 100.0 % 100.0 %

Expenses Expenses in fulfilment of Expenses

the Church’s missionof 67,234,737 Expenses in fulfilment Expenses € % & fundraising 9,923,494 thePromotion Church’s mission 67,234,737 ExpensesAdministration in fulfilment of & Core 5,490,304 Promotion & fundraising 67,234,737 9,923,494 the Church’s mission 81.8 % Total expenses 82,648,535 Administration Promotion & fundraising& Core 9,923,494 5,490,304 12.0 % End-of-year -409,020 Administration & Core surplus 5,490,304 82,648,535 6.7 % Total expenses

Total End-of-year expenses 82,648,535 100.5 surplus -0.5 %on the The annual financial statements have been audited -409,020 and certified by % KPMG. They are based financial statements of the National Offices. We will gladly supply these End-of-year surplus -409,020 -0.5 % on request. The annual financial statements have been audited and certified by KPMG. They are based on the

The annual financial statements of have auditedOffices. and certified by KPMG. are based financial statements thebeen National We will gladlyThey supply theseon onthe request. financial statements of the National Offices. We will gladly supply these on request.

Countryfromfrom Currency 2010 2011 Income donations 2011 Income donations 2011

Aus$ 5,235,361 CountryAustralia Currency 2010 2011 Country Currency 2010 Australia Austria Aus$ 5,235,361 3,312,860 € 2,473,862 Australia Aus$ 5,235,361 Austria € 2,473,862 2,543,381 Belgium € 4,183,437 Austria € 2,473,862 Belgium € 4,183,437 4,349,454 Brazil Reais 8,187,314 Brazil Belgium Reais 8,187,314 8,701,320 € 4,183,437 Canada Can$ 1,815,590 Canada Can$ 1,815,590 1,676,202 Brazil Reais 8,187,314 MassMass Chile Pesos 1,141,591,513 Chile Pesos 1,141,591,513 498,516,962 Offerings Offerings Canada Can$ 1,815,590 € 19,346,731 France France € 19,346,731 18,056,099 15.2 15.2 % % Mass Chile Pesos Germany € 8,704,558 9,429,456 Germany €1,141,591,513 8,704,558 Offerings France € 19,346,731 Father Werenfried Foundation € 311,622 340,192 15.2 % Father Werenfried Foundation € 311,622 € 2,876,702 2,455,685 Subsistence IrelandGermany €€ 8,704,558 2,876,702 Subsistence Ireland Aid Italy Father Werenfried Foundation € 2,589,146 2,271,744 €€ 311,622 Italy 2,589,146 2.8 % Aid € 260,500 92,714 2.8 Luxembourg % Ireland €€ 2,876,702 Subsistence Luxembourg 260,500 Netherlands € 6,594,944 5,393,807 Emergency Aid Italy € 2,589,146 Netherlands € 6,594,944 Poland zl 4,497,343 5,621,376 AidEmergency 2.8 % 1.3 % Luxembourg € zl 260,500 € 2,331,855 2,335,877 Poland 4,497,343 AidPortugal SpainNetherlands € 8,367,592 6,406,342 1.3 % € 6,594,944 Portugal € 2,331,855 Emergency Construction CHF 10,281,140 9,739,921 29.3 % Poland zl € 4,497,343 Aid Switzerland Spain 8,367,592 Construction UK £ 6,708,217 7,308,084 1.3 % Portugal € 2,331,855 Switzerland CHF 10,281,140 29.3 % USA US$ 2,332,995 2,699,002 Spain € 8,367,592 UK £ 6,708,217 International Secretariat € 577,887 629,387 Construction Switzerland CHF 10,281,140 USA US$ 2,332,995 Total worldwide income in € 86,911,189 82,088,727 29.3 % UKInternational Secretariat £€ 6,708,217 577,887 Total worldwide income US$ in € 86,911,189 USA 2,332,995

Media Theological Apostolate Media Formation Theological Media Apostolate 8.4 % Theological Formation 10.9 % 8.4 % Apostolate 10.9 % Formation 8.4 % 10.9 %

Pastoral PastoralAid Aid 12.9 %% 12.9 Pastoral Aid 12.9 % Catechesis

81.8 % 12.0%% 81.8 6.7%% 12.0 100.5 6.7 %% -0.5%% 100.5

Income from donations 2011

Bible Apostolate 4.4Apostolate % Bible Bible Apostolate 4.4 % 4.4 %

Catechesis 9.7 % 9.7 % Catechesis 9.7 %

% %

How your How your giftsyour were gifts were How used giftsused were used

Transport 5.1 %

Transport 5.1 %

Transport 5.1 %

International Secretariat Your love in 145 Countries during 2011 (in Euros)€

El Salvador Albania 211,375 Equatorial Guinea Algeria 104,363 Eritrea Angola 443,914 Estonia Argentina 818,057 El Salvador Albania 211,375 Ethiopia Armenia 102,465 Algeria 104,363 FijiEquatorial Guinea Azerbaijan 27,000 Eritrea Angola 443,914 Gabon Bangladesh 160,719 Salvador Albania 211,375 Belarus 390,622 Estonia Argentina 818,057El Georgia Guinea Algeria 104,363 Ghana Benin 330,300 Ethiopia Armenia 102,465Equatorial Guatemala Bolivia 387,654 Angola 443,914 Fiji Azerbaijan 27,000Eritrea Guinea Bosnia-Herzegovina 844,023 Estonia Argentina 818,057 Gabon Bangladesh 160,719 Guinea-Bissau Botswana 10,400 Armenia 102,465 Georgia Belarus 390,622Ethiopia Haiti Brazil 3,655,915 Azerbaijan 27,000 Ghana Benin 330,300FijiHonduras Bulgaria 191,121 Gabon Bangladesh 160,719 Kong Burkina Faso 336,378 Guatemala Bolivia 387,654 Hong Hungary Burundi 544,258 Belarus 390,622 Guinea Bosnia-Herzegovina 844,023Georgia Cambodia 10,913 Ghana BeninBotswana 330,300 Guinea-Bissau 10,400 India Cameroon 561,575 Indonesia Guatemala BoliviaBrazil 387,654 3,655,915 Central African Republic 316,027 IranHaiti Bosnia-Herzegovina 844,023 Bulgaria 191,121Guinea Chad 132,035 IraqHonduras Botswana 10,400 Hong Kong Burkina 336,378Guinea-Bissau Chile Faso 663,892 Israel China 938,538 Ivory Coast BrazilBurundi 3,655,915 Hungary 544,258Haiti Colombia Jamaica 811,761 Bulgaria 191,121 India Cambodia 10,913Honduras Jordan Comoros 4,800 Hong Kong Burkina Faso 336,378 Indonesia Cameroon 561,575 Kazakhstan Congo 138,943 Central 316,027 Iran Burundi Kenya CostaAfrican Rica Republic 544,258 2,920 Hungary Chad 132,035India Iraq Cambodia 10,913 Kiribati Croatia 334,361 Chile 663,892Indonesia Israel Kyrgyzstan Cuba 961,973 Cameroon 561,575 Laos Czech Republic 432,685 China 938,538Iran Ivory Coast Central African Republic 316,027 Latvia Dominican Republic 42,530 Iraq 811,761 Jamaica Chad Colombia 132,035 DR Congo 1,899,715 Jordan 4,800 Lebanon Chile Comoros 663,892 Lesotho East Timor 78,639 Israel Kazakhstan 138,943 ChinaCongo 938,538 Coast Liberia Ecuador 82,036 Ivory Kenya Costa Rica 2,920 ColombiaEgypt 811,761 Libya 733,350 Jamaica

577,887

incomeSerbia in € 86,911,189 316,926 Lithuania Total worldwide 425,734 33,011 Seychelles 3,340 Macau 7,000 25,000 Sierra Leone (in Euros)128,187 Madagascar 451,850 131,244 Malawi 446,967 7,300 Slovakia 830,252 Serbia Lithuania 425,734 Mali 164,293 619,211 33,011 Slovenia 24,984 Euros) 199,256 Macau Mauretania 13,500 10,000 25,000 South7,000 Africa (inSeychelles Sierra Leone Madagascar Macedonia 138,834 7,000131,244 Sri451,850 Lanka 702,034 Lithuania 33,011 Mexico 192,068 425,734 45,540 Sudan Slovakia 1,144,684 Malawi 446,967 Serbia 7,300 Macau 7,000 25,000 Moldova 66,834 460,122 Swaziland 3,000 Mali 164,293 Seychelles 619,211 Slovenia Mongolia 35,300 92,100 Syria Leone 451,850 131,244 Mauretania 13,500 Sierra 10,000 Madagascar South Africa335,311 Montenegro 261,435 446,967 200,282 Tajikistan 8,850 Malawi 7,300 Slovakia Macedonia 138,834 Sri Lanka 959,555 56,662 7,000 Tanzania 14,700 MaliMexico 164,293 619,211Morocco 192,068 Slovenia Sudan 1,532,935 45,540 Thailand 68,521 Mozambique 496,725 Mauretania 13,500 10,000 Africa 12,000 Moldova 66,834 460,122 Swaziland 121,494 The Gambia South Myanmar (Burma) 1,043,305 7,000 Lanka 5,000 Togo 175,383 NepalMacedonia 35,000 138,834 Mongolia 35,300 SriSyria 92,100 126,817 Trinidad and Tobago 6,569 Nicaragua 222,041 192,068 Mexico 45,540 Sudan Montenegro 261,435 200,282 Tajikistan Tunisia Niger Moldova 33,312 4,251,083 66,834 460,122 Morocco 14,700 Swaziland 56,662 Tanzania 32,000 Turkey 89,605 Nigeria 588,809 378,869 Mongolia 35,300 92,100 Syria 496,725 1,532,935 Thailand Turkmenistan 18,870 Pakistan Mozambique 528,166 221,376 Montenegro 200,282 Tajikistan 121,494 The Gambia874,251 Myanmar (Burma)173,938 261,435 1,043,305 Uganda Palestine 674,493 Morocco 56,662 14,700 5,000 Togo Nepal 35,000 Tanzania Ukraine 4,904,731 Panama 7,591 91,450 United Arab Emirates PapuaMozambique New Guinea 368,749 496,725 289,001 1,532,935 Thailand 126,817 Trinidad and 15,500 Tobago Nicaragua 222,041 Uruguay Paraguay 45,547 121,494 Gambia 172,245 Myanmar 4,251,083 Tunisia Niger (Burma) 204,378 1,043,305 33,312 The Uzbekistan 22,500 Peru Nepal 1,020,135 97,827 5,000 35,000 Turkey Nigeria 588,809 Togo 378,869 Venezuela 389,287 Philippines 817,397 392,219 Turkmenistan Pakistan 528,166 Trinidad 221,376 126,817 and1,147,215 Tobago Vietnam PolandNicaragua 681,603 222,041 891,991 Uganda Palestine 173,938 Tunisia Niger 33,312 4,251,083 Western Sahara 8,000 Romania 1,159,506 30,500674,493 Ukraine 12,308,173 Panama 7,591 91,450 Western WorldTurkey RussiaNigeria (Catholic) 1,579,327 588,809 27,500 378,869 Zambia RussiaPakistan (Ecumenical) 417,513 528,166 53,000 United Arab732,756 Emirates Papua New Guinea 368,749 Turkmenistan 289,001 221,376 RussiaPalestine (Orthodox) 704,600 173,938 136,990 Zimbabwe Uruguay 407,534 Paraguay 204,378 Uganda 45,547 674,493 Rwanda Peru 558,078 273,536 97,827 Uzbekistan 1,020,135 Ukraine 7,591 91,450SamoaPanama 15,000 8,400 Venezuela Philippines 817,397 United 392,219 Arab Emirates Papua New Guinea 74,000 368,749 289,001 São Tomé 88,023 Vietnam67,234,737 Poland 681,603 891,991 Paraguay 45,547 Senegal 109,150 204,378 5,600 Total in Euro Uruguay

Your love in 145 Countries during 2011 Your love in 145 Countries during 2011

Croatia Comoros CongoCuba CostaCzech Rica Republic Dominican Republic Croatia Cuba DR Congo Timor CzechEast Republic Ecuador Dominican Republic 26 Egypt DR Congo

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Kiribati 334,361Jordan 4,800 Kyrgyzstan 961,973Kazakhstan 138,943 Laos 432,685 Kenya 2,920 Latvia 42,530Kiribati 334,361 Lebanon 1,899,715Kyrgyzstan 961,973 78,639 LaosLesotho 432,685 Liberia 82,036 Latvia 42,530 Libya 733,350Lebanon 1,899,715

78,639 82,036 733,350

Lesotho Liberia Libya

30,500 97,827 27,500 392,219 53,000 891,991 136,990 30,500 273,536 27,500 8,400 53,000 88,023 136,990 5,600 273,536

8,400 88,023 5,600

Romania Peru Russia (Catholic) Philippines Russia (Ecumenical) Poland Russia (Orthodox) Romania Rwanda Russia (Catholic) Samoa Russia (Ecumenical) São Tomé Russia (Orthodox) Senegal Rwanda

Samoa São Tomé Senegal

1,159,506 1,020,135 1,579,327 817,397 417,513 681,603 704,600 1,159,506 558,078 1,579,327 15,000 417,513 74,000 704,600 109,150 558,078

15,000 74,000 109,150

Western Sahara Uzbekistan Western World Venezuela Zambia Vietnam Zimbabwe Western Sahara Western World Zambia Zimbabwe Total in Euro

Total in Euro

3,312,860 2011 2,543,381 3,312,860 4,349,454 2,543,381 8,701,320 4,349,454 1,676,202 8,701,320 498,516,962 1,676,202 18,056,099 498,516,962 9,429,456 18,056,099 340,192 9,429,456 2,455,685 340,192 2,271,744 2,455,685 92,714 2,271,744 5,393,807 92,714 5,621,376 5,393,807 2,335,877 5,621,376 6,406,342 2,335,877 9,739,921 6,406,342 7,308,084 9,739,921 2,699,002 7,308,084 629,387 82,088,727 2,699,002 629,387 82,088,727

316,926 3,340 128,187 316,926 830,252 3,340 24,984 128,187 199,256 830,252 702,034 24,984 1,144,684 199,256 3,000 702,034 335,311 1,144,684 8,850 3,000 959,555 335,311 68,521 8,850 12,000 959,555 175,383 68,521 6,569 12,000 32,000 175,383 89,605 18,870 6,569 874,251 32,000 4,904,731 89,605 15,500 18,870 172,245 874,251 22,500 4,904,731 389,287 15,500 1,147,215 172,245 8,000 22,500 12,308,173 389,287 732,756 1,147,215 407,534 8,000 12,308,173 732,756 407,534 67,234,737

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Thank you from Aid to the Church in Need Each year thanks to the • Donations • Legacies and • Mass offerings of its benefactors in Ireland and around the world ACN is able to • Provide sustenance and the means of survival for approx. 20,000 priests • Support approx. 18,000 seminarians and religious and • Distribute approx. 1.5 million catechetical books for children in over 170 languages. Heartfelt thanks for all your prayers and support provided to Christ’s Suffering and Persecuted Church.

Worldwide over 50 million Children’s Bibles have been distributed in more than 170 languages.

May the Good Lord continue to bless you and your family, past and present, now and always.

J F Declan Quinn Director Aid to the Church in Need (Ireland) Where to send your contribution for the Church in Need: Please use the Freepost envelope. Aid to the Church in Need, 151 St. Mobhi Road, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. Tel. (01) 837 7516. Email: info@acnirl.org Web: www.godspeakstohischildren.org

(Registered Charity Numbers: (RoI) 9492 (NI) XR96620).

The Four Gospels

If you give by standing order, or have sent a donation recently, please accept our sincere thanks. This Mirror is for your interest and information.

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Aid to the Church in Need

ACN benefactors pray, send mass offerings, donations and remember ACN in their wills.

Each year Aid to the Church in Need: • Provide sustenance and the means of survival for approx. 20,000 priests. • Support approx. 18,000 seminarians and religious and • Distribute approx. 1.5 million catechetical books for children in over 170 languages.

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Your Love in 145 Countries during 2011 (in Euros) Albania 211,375 Algeria 104,363 Angola 443,914 Argentina 818,057 Armenia 102,465 Azerbaijan 27,000 Bangladesh 160,719 Belarus 390,622 Benin 330,300 Bolivia 387,654 Bosnia-Herzegovina 844,023 Botswana 10,400 Brazil 3,655,915 Bulgaria 191,121 Burkina Faso 336,378 Burundi 544,258 Cambodia 10,913 Cameroon 561,575 Central African Republic 316,027 Chad 132,035 Chile 663,892 China 938,538 Colombia 811,761 Comoros 4,800 Congo 138,943 Costa Rica 2,920 Croatia 334,361 Cuba 961,973 Czech Republic 432,685 Dominican Republic 42,530 DR Congo 1,899,715 East Timor 78,639 Ecuador 82,036 Egypt 733,350 El Salvador 33,011 Equatorial Guinea 25,000 Eritrea 131,244 Estonia 7,300 Ethiopia 619,211 Fiji 10,000 Gabon 7,000 Georgia 45,540 Ghana 460,122 Guatemala 92,100 Guinea 200,282 Guinea-Bissau 56,662 Haiti 1,532,935

Honduras Hong Kong Hungary India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Ivory Coast Jamaica Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Lithuania Macau Madagascar Malawi Mali Mauretania Macedonia Mexico Moldova Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar (Burma) Nepal Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Pakistan Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland

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121,494 5,000 126,817 4,251,083 378,869 221,376 674,493 91,450 289,001 45,547 97,827 392,219 891,991 30,500 27,500 53,000 136,990 273,536 8,400 88,023 5,600 425,734 7,000 451,850 446,967 164,293 13,500 138,834 192,068 66,834 35,300 261,435 14,700 496,725 1,043,305 35,000 222,041 33,312 588,809 528,166 173,938 7,591 368,749 204,378 1,020,135 817,397 681,603

Romania Russia (Catholic) Russia (Ecumenical) Russia (Orthodox) Rwanda Samoa SĂŁo TomĂŠ Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Slovakia Slovenia South Africa Sri Lanka Sudan Swaziland Syria Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand The Gambia Togo Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates Uruguay Uzbekistan Venezuela Vietnam Western Sahara Western World Zambia Zimbabwe

1,159,506 1,579,327 417,513 704,600 558,078 15,000 74,000 109,150 316,926 3,340 128,187 830,252 24,984 199,256 702,034 1,144,684 3,000 335,311 8,850 959,555 68,521 12,000 175,383 6,569 32,000 89,605 18,870 874,251 4,904,731 15,500 172,245 22,500 389,287 1,147,215 8,000 12,308,173 732,756 407,534

Total in Euro

67,234,737

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A Sure Way for Youth “Calea Sigura - The SureWay” is the title of a book that the Catholics in Timisoara, Romania, have been able to publish and distribute,with your help. It is a textbook aimed at the area of youth and sexuality.The demand for it has been strong, even in neighbouring dioceses. Father Pal Iosif Csaba thanks you with all his heart for the fact that the book is proving to be such “a valuable instrument for catechesis, religious instruction, youth meetings in the presbyteries and marriage preparation courses”. It is filling many previous gaps, he adds, for this book is “the only known material in the Romanian language” on such issues as “purity, friendship, marriage and family”.

Need, Love and Thanks – Your Letters The blood of the martyrs For many years now the three letters ACN have been written on my priestly heart, together with those three words that hatred can never destroy and that are the banner of the Church, which you and I both serve and love – faith, hope and charity. Every Friday the blood of Christ is poured out – mingling with that of the Christian martyrs that is still shed in all too many places – in the Eucharist that I celebrate here in the house of Saint John, in union with you and in union with the Church in need. A priest in France God’s love, help and blessing Recently I was more than fortunate to have received an exceedingly high price from a sale of land, hence I felt it my duty to donate an amount to charity. It had to be yours of course, ACN. Please find enclosed €10,000. I would like to take this opportunity to compliment the publication of your Mirror, it is always read on the day of arrival! Finally your work in spreading the Good News to the four corners of the earth often under the pain of extreme hunger, civil unrest, persecution, rape, pillage and plunder shows evidentially God’s Love, God’s Help and God’s Blessing in continuing your great deeds. A benefactor in Ireland Spiritual nourishment My heartfelt thanks for the prompt arrival of the Mirror, which I always read with great interest as a source of spiritual nourishment. A benefactor in Germany

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