Red Wednesday

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Aid to the Church in Need (ACN Canada, Pontifical Charity) will hold its 9th annual Red Wednesday on Nov. 15 and invites individuals, parishes and schools to participate between Nov. 15 to 19, 2023. 

In solidarity with Christians who suffer for their faith, we are inviting people to organize an event around that theme, to make themselves visible by wearing red, illuminating their church or another significant building in red, as this colour is associated with martyrdom in the Christian tradition. 
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Please consider these activities with your parish, ministry, and community:

• Illuminate in red a church or other important building in your area
• Prayer Service for Persecuted Christians (Download: Prayer Vigil for Persecuted Christians)
• A Mass for persecuted Christians (Download: Mass for Persecuted Christians)
• Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament (you may use the Prayer Vigil for Persecuted Christians as part of the prayer)
• Rosary
• Include this a petition for persecuted Christians in the universal prayers of the Sunday Masses before November 15, 2022. (Download: Prayer of the Faithful)
• Wear red, pray for persecuted Christians, and share your photos on social media channels with tags #RedWednesday #CatholicYYC 
• Use social media to publicize the event and raise awareness of the cause using #RedWednesday #CatholicYYC
• Hold a fundraiser to help the affected communities
• ​Visit Aid to the Church in Need Canada: https://acn-canada.org/red-wednesday/
• More resources available at https://acn-canada.org/rw/#parishes | 
• General text/explanation on Religious Persecution

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These days, and especially here, it's hard to imagine that people can be discriminated, or worse, persecuted because of their faith. Unfortunately, reality isn't as such. Today, across the world, 327 million Christians live in a country where there is persecution at various degrees. Because of their faith, they endure discrimination, they get scorned, they get arrested, they get incarcerated, they get tortured and sometimes they even get killed. It is estimated that 75 % of acts of violence for religious reasons are perpetrated against Christians, which makes them the most persecuted group.
 
Instead of getting better, the situation is getting worst year after year. Among persecutors we find governments who fear the influence of the Church and try by all means to reduce Christians to silence. This is frequent in communist or totalitarian countries. We also find other religious groups who wish to eliminate Christians in order to become the only religious group of a region.
 
The persecuted find strength in our prayers which accompany them and that way they don't feel abandoned from the rest of the world. Visit: https://acn-canada.org/red-wednesday/

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