what is “Redweek” that lights up churches in red this week?

Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is organizing Redweek from this Sunday 17th until November 24th to raise awareness about the situation of Christians in the world. In France, Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, the Sacré Coeur Basilica in Montmartre and the Lourdes Sanctuary will be illuminated in red.

An initiative that makes sense. Starting this Sunday and for one week, Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) is organizing Redweek. Since 2015, the pontifical foundation has illuminated churches in France and abroad in red to raise awareness of the plight of Christians around the world. “We want to open our eyes to this dramatic situation,” says Natalie Chambon, responsible for the event. “Red evokes the color of the blood of martyrs. The ACN also wishes to alert people to the opportunity to be able to access churches freely, unlike in certain parts of the world,” she continues.

This year, famous monuments will be lit such as Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, the Sacré Coeur Basilica in Montmartre, the Lourdes Sanctuary and the Sagrada Familia in Spain. Aid to the Church in Need encourages each person to take up this subject and ask the priest of their town for authorization to light the parish church.

365 million Christians persecuted around the world

From October 17, prayer vigils for persecuted Christians will also be organized. Three countries will be in the spotlight: Burkina Faso where Christians suffer repression from terrorist groups; Armenia which was amputated of a part of its territory, Artshakh, by Azerbaijan and finally Pakistan where the Christian minority is considered “second class citizens”. “Nowadays, Christians die as martyrs out of fidelity to Christ. During the Night of Witnesses organized by the ACN, we invite you to come and pay homage to the priests and religious killed during the year in the name of their faith. Let us be numerous to come and tell the persecuted Christians in the world that we do not forget them and that we carry them in our prayers,” explains Benoît de Blanpré, director of the ACN.

According to the latest report from the NGO Portes Ouvertes published in January 2024, 365 million Christians are persecuted and discriminated against in the world, an increase of 5 million compared to the previous year. In other words, one in seven Christians cannot practice their faith freely. In detail, nearly 5,000 of them were murdered, 4,000 were kidnapped and just as many taken prisoner.