SW News: The week-long celebration of the International Red Week campaign initiated by the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) began on November 16. It is being held to commemorate the persecuted Christians across the globe and to remember the lack of religious freedom in many countries. It will come to a close on November 23 with the observance of Red Wednesday.

On that day, many buildings across the world will be illuminated in red paying homage to those who are enduring Christian persecution and to people who face religious freedom oppression. Aid to the Church in Need announced that this year’s theme will be “Blessed are the Persecuted.”

As part of the celebration, buildings and landmarks around the world will be illuminated in red and special prayers will be conducted in different parts of the world. Ten cathedrals in Australia will be illuminated in red and the cathedral in Canberra, the capital, will hold a Night of Witness prayer event.

The Red Week campaign started with the official launch of  a report on Christians who suffered oppression because of their faith in the years, 2020–22 titled, “Persecuted and Forgotten?” 2022. The launch was conducted in the Houses of Parliament and it supplemented ACN’s Religious Freedom Report.

This year, ACN recommended churches be illuminated in red only for a short period and recommended replacing it with the ringing of bells. This strategic move was in connection with energy-saving regulations.

On November 16, a special mass was celebrated in the St. Karl Church in Vienna to commemorate the persecuted Christians.

The United Kingdom arranged a special food program called “Taste of Home”, where people were asked to gather and share a traditional meal from countries where Christians are persecuted. During the program, they shared stories about suffering churches, prayed and raised money to help the ailing church and the refugees.

ACN every year supports more than 5,000 projects in around 140 countries where Christians require help and people undergo persecution.