The director of ACN Spain, José María Gallardo and Carmen Conde, head of Finance and Legacies, presented in Madrid the figures for the last fiscal year of the company. Aid to the Church in Need in the world.
José María Gallardo has started the presentation of the Report of Activities 2023 of Aid to the Church in Need thanking the generosity of all benefactors and the work of ACN volunteers around the world.
He also had a special remembrance for Javier Menéndez Ros and Ernesto Saiz de Vicuña, former director and president of the Foundation until the end of 2023.
ACN 2023 data
The director of ACN Spain has described the main data of the Aid to the Church in Need Foundation around the world during the last fiscal year.
Ukraine was the country that received the most aid from this Foundation with more than 7.5 million euros. This aid was mainly destined for the Ukrainian clergy, including war chaplains, and also for the spiritual and pastoral care of refugees in the western part of the country.
As Gallardo himself has pointed out "in the case of Ukraine, there is "a great unknown as to what will happen in the coming months in Ukraine. When there is a crisis, it is necessary to wait for peace to begin reconstruction and the Church is clear about this. For the moment, from Ukraine, they are asking for help and support in the west where the displaced population is (women, children)".
The earthquake in Syria was another focus of attention for this pontifical foundation. The campaign launched in the wake of this catastrophe met with a broad response that resulted in aid of more than 7.4 million euros.
Lebanon and India, where anti-conversion laws and persecution of the Church are present, were the countries in which ACN was able to help with more than 6 million euros each.
In addition to these, projects in several African countries such as Congo, Tanzania and Nigeria have received support from this foundation.
The director of ACN Spain wanted to highlight the characteristic of the foundation, which is to support pastoral and catechetical work, as well as the presence of Christians of all denominations.
It is not surprising, therefore, that most of the beneficiaries are priests, dioceses and bishops, although, as Gallardo stressed, "there are more and more requests for projects for the formation of the laity".
Among the projects supported, 26.8% of the donations were earmarked for the construction and reconstruction of churches, as well as the payment of stipends to priests for their upkeep and the training of religious and catechists.
Spain: donations and benefactors increase
For her part, Carmen Conde explained the role of ACN Spain in this year. In Spain, 27,017 benefactors donated resources to Aid to the Church in Need in 2023, an increase of 17% over the previous year.
The amount of donations, inheritances and legacies received by ACN was 18,432,320 euros, which is 4.6% less than the previous year due to a decrease in inheritances and legacies since regular donations have risen by 17.2%.
Questioned about this data, Conde explained that in 2022 there was a particularly strong inheritance that gave rise to this increase but that, in reality, the number of people who opt for this way of supporting persecuted and needy Christians around the world continues to grow.
Conde also emphasized that "out of 100 euros that are donated to ACN in Spain, 90.7 go to the foundation's own purposes and only 9 euros to other expenses.
In addition, of ACN's 23 offices worldwide, the Spanish office has contributed 12.8 percent of ACN's total revenue in 2023.
