FAther Werenfried van Straaten, founder of Aid to the Church in Need, with his 'hat of millions'. Photo: Aid to the Church in Need

“We too must trust in the Lord, the mighty, strong God, who mocks the heathen and shatters him like vessels of clay.

“It is not dangerous to build on him alone, for he has overcome the world.”

– Father Werenfried van Straaten, founder of Aid to the Church in Need

Pray for the Persecuted Church

Please pray for kidnapped archbishops and priests in Syria

Tuesday 23 April: We have heard this morning that Syrian Orthodox Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim and Greek Orthodox Archbishop Boulos Yazaji, both of Aleppo in Syria, were kidnapped by armed men last night. A statement from the Syrian Orthodox Church said Archbishop Ibrahim had been returning from an attempt to negotiate the release of two priests who had been taken hostage. Some reports suggested the archbishops were freed the day after their kidnapping, but the Syrian Orthodox Church said this was not the case and that they do not know their whereabouts.

Please remember these kidnapped archbishops and pray for their safe release, as well as for their driver who was killed in the attack.

Please also pray for Fr Michael Kayal, Fr Ishak Mahfoud and Fr Hassam Tabara, who were kidnapped in February, Fr Fadi Haddad who was kidnapped and murdered in November 2012, and seminarian Benjamin Camil, a seminarian training to be a deacon, who was killed by a bomb last month.

A young man bows his head in prayer in India. Photo: Aid to the Church in NeedShowing your solidarity in prayer is a wonderful way to support persecuted and suffering Christians around the world. It forges a real bond of Christian fellowship.

Why not gather together at your school or with friends, family and fellow parishioners to pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ?

You can request prayer cards from Aid to the Church in Need to help you in your prayers. We are happy to send these out to you free of charge.

Hold a Day of Prayer

Why not dedicate a day of prayer in your school, parish or prayer group to the needs of the suffering Church around the world?

Aid to the Church in Need can provide you with materials for the day – information about our work for the persecuted Church, prayer cards and posters.

You might like to pray for suffering Christians in general or to turn your focus to a specific country or area of Aid to the Church in Need’s work.

Please contact us with more details of your day of prayer and we can help you with your particular needs.

Don’t forget to add your day of prayer to the Aid to the Church in Need Events Calendar, too, so others will know about it and join in.

Pilgrims carry a statue of Our Lady of Walsingham. Photo: Aid to the Church in NeedJoin an Aid to the Church in Need Pilgrimage

Each year several hundred of our friends and supporters gather together in Walsingham and Carfin – the English and Scottish National Shrines to Our Lady – for Aid to the Church in Need's pilgrimages in solidarity with persecuted and suffering Christians. These pilgrimages will be taking place again in 2012, and we will publish details of them on our website nearer the time. 

Other pilgrimages in 2011 include a Blessed John Henry Newman pilgrimage to his shrine at Birmingham Oratory, and other significant places in his life. And this September, we are travelling to Ukraine, a key country for Aid to the Church in Need's project support. You can still book a place on this pilgrimage – find out more.

Pledge your prayers for the suffering Church

Please pledge your support for the suffering Church, using our poll below.

Thank you for your prayers and solidarity!