ACN stands with flood victims in Brazil

Aid to the Church in Need is in close contact with its local partners in Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, the areas hit hardest by the May and April floods in Brazil. The organization is committed to assisting in recovery efforts.

Torrential rain has already killed about 150 people and affected more than two million in the Brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, with many losing their sources of income and needing immediate aid. These floods were the largest in the history of Rio Grande do Sul.

Regina Lynch, executive president of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), sent a message of solidarity to the organization’s project partners in the country, to express the charity’s “spiritual closeness” with the country and willingness to help at such a difficult time. “As members of the same mystical body of Christ, ACN wants to support – through prayer and material assistance,” said Lynch. “We are in constant prayer for all the people there and remain available to help the local Church with any needs that arise, whether emergency or structural.”

She expressed her hope that global solidarity might “stem the consequences of the tragedy,” and that there would be encouragement and prayers “for the shepherds of this hard-hit flock.”

In a letter to ACN, Bishop Jaime Pedro Kohl of Osório, in Rio Grande do Sul, explained that “all our parishes are […] donating food, water, hygiene products, mattresses, clothes, and other essential goods. We have already managed to send hundreds of tons of donations,” in what he describes as a “Pentecost of charity.”

The bishop also shared his gratitude for ACN for its constant aid to the local Church. “Amid all the suffering and pain, the solidarity and charity of the local community, the Brazilian people, and the whole world shines through. Thank you!”

—Filipe d’Avillez