Report on “Benefactors’ Day 2024” by ACN International

The “Benefactors’ Day 2024”

“Lord, open our eyes, that we may see you in our brothers and sisters. Lord, open our ears, that we may hear the cries of the hungry, the cold, the frightened, the oppressed. Lord, open our hearts, that we may love each other as you love us.” (Mother Teresa)

On Friday, June 7, 2024, the annual “Benefactors Day” took place at the house of ACN International in Königstein im Taunus, with around 70 guests attending. This special event, held every year on the Feast of the Sacred Heart, is the day when ACN International expresses its sincere thanks to its benefactors.

The Benefactors Day was a profoundly moving and inspiring event, highlighting the significance of collective efforts and the far-reaching impact of charity and solidarity.

Throughout the day, the benefactors gained insights into the projects to understand the living conditions and challenges of the people they support spiritually and financially. In personal conversations with ACN International and YOUCAT Foundation staff, the guests learned more about the daily challenges of the project work.

The highlight of the day was the Holy Mass in honor of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Father Anton Lässer CP, the international spiritual assistant of ACN International, thanked the donors on behalf of all those who have already received so much help through their faithful and long-term support. He explained that the gifts acquire a special, indeed redeeming quality when they are born out of love, prayer, and sacrifice. For in this way, the love of God becomes tangible. He elucidated the passage from the reading from the Letter to the Ephesians: “So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

The day concluded with a devotion in honor of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, followed by the eucharistic blessing.

May God reward the benefactors for their generosity! It is they who make our efforts for the needy and persecuted Christians possible. Deo gratias!