BY Ian Dunn | March 20 | 
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New Holy Father offered prayers for Aid to the Church in Need
The charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) has revealed that Pope Francis is a long time supporter of their work.
A letter, only now released in English, reveals that when he became a cardinal, the new Pope pledged his prayers for the Catholic charity that aids persecuted Christians.
In a letter to Fr Werenfried van Straaten, founder of ACN, the then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio asked for prayers and promised to pray for the charity’s staff and benefactors.
“I promise you that I shall pray for the workers and benefactors of Aid to the Church in Need,” he wrote.
He went on to add a personal message to Fr Werenfried.
“I shall also pray for you, whom I hold in pleasant memory (I have not forgotten the conversation we had more than 20 years ago),” the letter said. “Thank you also for everything you do for the Church. Please also pray for me.”
The Argentinian prelate’s letter, dated February 27 2001, came in response to a message from Fr Werenfried congratulating him on being made a cardinal.
Fr Werenfried expanded Aid to the Church in Need’s work to Latin America in 1962 at the personal request of Blessed Pope John XXIII and the charity continues to support projects across the continent.
Pope Francis asked the Faithful in Argentina not to travel to Rome for his installation Mass, but to give the money they would have spent on travel to the poor.
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