Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has elected Austrian Msgr. Friedrich Bechina as the Pontifical Foundation’s new coordinator of Ecclesiastical Assistants during a major assembly in Rome. Founded nearly 80 years ago, ACN currently operates in over 140 countries, collaborating with more than 1,300 dioceses across 24 national sections to support 5,000 pastoral and evangelization projects each year.
The Rome gathering offered participants an opportunity to deepen their connection with the universal Church and meet ACN’s new president, Cardinal Kurt Koch, Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity. During the assembly, delegates attended a Papal General Audience with Pope Leo XIV. Msgr. Bechina highlighted the Holy Father’s personal history with the foundation, noting that prior to his papacy, while serving as a bishop in Peru, Pope Leo was an active project partner with ACN and continues to encourage their mission of global evangelization.
Addressing the foundation’s core identity, Msgr. Bechina emphasized that ACN focuses strictly on pastoral support, priestly formation, and church building rather than general humanitarian aid. A major priority includes supporting Africa’s rapidly growing vocations, where ACN provides direct financial aid to 250 seminarians and priests studying abroad. The foundation also delivers rapid crisis response to local Churches facing political upheaval or natural disasters in regions such as Venezuela and Colombia.
A central pillar of ACN’s work remains preserving Christian presence in the Middle East, where conflict has displaced communities and destroyed local infrastructure. By sustaining clergy and rebuilding Church structures, the foundation aims to give vulnerable communities the hope and stability needed to remain in their homelands. Furthermore, Vatican officials noted that ACN plays a crucial advocacy role, using its platform to speak out boldly on religious persecution in situations where diplomatic protocols may constrain the Holy See from public commentary.