In 2022, Aid to the Church in Need received and redistributed 145,995,491 euros, 13 million more than in 2021. The record donations came from the generosity of more than 364,000 private benefactors. To these, 2.7 million of previous reserves were added, resulting in 148.7 million in project funding.

These are the figures from the report on the activities of Aid to the Church in Need. Released last week, the report certifies the statistics of a commitment. It comes on the eve of another, even more eagerly awaited information, which is the one on religious freedom in the world, to be presented on June 22.

What did Aid to the Church in Need do with the money it received? 82.6 percent, or 122.8 million euros) went to activities related to ACN's mission. These included funding-specific projects (87.2 percent), information work, Christian advocacy, and evangelization (12.8 percent). Of the total expenditures, 17.4 percent, or 25.9 million euros, went to administration (6.7 percent) and fundraising (10.7 percent).

Most of the Aid went to Ukraine, which received 9.5 million euros to alleviate the difficult situation there with the ongoing war through 353 projects. The projects were particularly aimed at helping priests, religious, seminarians, and other church workers who worked with refugees.

Widening the look to geographical areas, Africa received 31.5 percent of the Aid. The Middle East followed it with a share of 18.1 percent, and Central and Eastern Europe, to which 17.1 percent of Aid was allocated.

Close behind, Latin America received 16.7 percent of Aid, Asia, and Oceania 14.6 percent, and the remaining 1.4 percent went to other areas.

ACS funded 972 religious building projects, including the construction and repair of churches, chapels, monasteries, seminaries, and parish houses, and the purchase of 1,253 vehicles, including 564 cars, 252 motorcycles, 16 boats, 11 buses, 4 trucks, and 406 bicycles to facilitate pastoral workers in carrying out their mission, especially in Africa and Latin America.

The foundation has also helped more than 40,000 priests with offerings sent for the celebration of Masses, 21,000 religious men and women with livelihood aid, and, finally, 14,000 future priests with other financial support.

ACS has funded 5,702 projects, 404 more than in 2021. The initiatives cover 1,199 dioceses, more than a third of all Catholic dioceses, in 128 countries. The largest project, worth nearly €1 million, enabled the renovation of a partially destroyed parish in Iraq, while the smallest involved a training program in Colombia, funded with €300. ACN's overall financial results were audited by PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers).

This article was originally published on ACI Stampa.