Aid to the Church in Need: AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED MOURNS THE DEATH OF ITS FOUNDER

AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED MOURNS THE DEATH OF ITS FOUNDER

Posted by Press Release on 1/2/2003, 9:30 am
Message modified by board administrator 1/2/2003, 10:40 pm

PRESS RELEASE
AID TO THE CHURCH IN NEED MOURNS THE DEATH OF ITS FOUNDER, WERENFRIED VAN STRAATEN
31.01.2003 Sydney. The founder and for years the leading figure of the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Father Werenfried van Straaten, died on the 31/1/2003 at 9.40 am aged 90, in a German hospital in the town of Bad Soden.
According to information from the headquarters of the charity, which is based near Frankfurt in Germany. Fr van Straaten, a priest of the Norbertine Order, had been the central figure of this charity ever since its origins in 1947.
Born in 1913 in the town of Mijdrecht, Holland, Fr Werenfried became a household name to millions after the Second World War thanks to his aid campaign for the German refugees from the East - a campaign that earned him the famous nickname of “Bacon Priest". He began in Belgium and Holland, collecting food, clothing and medical supplies. Today the charity he founded supports persecuted and suffering Christians in more than 140 countries around the world, predominantly through pastoral projects. Until late in his life he was a compelling speaker whose appeals and sermons captivated audiences in different countries around the world, and he continued to write his dynamic and challenging letters in the Aid to the Church in Need Mirror newsletter until very recently. Up to 700,000 benefactors today support his charity worldwide.
“Fr Werenfried’s name meant "Fighter for Peace". says Phillip Collignon, the Australian National Director of Aid to the Church in Need. "His whole priestly life was dedicated to helping refugees and the Church wherever its members where persecuted, threatened or menaced.
He unashamedly called himself a beggar for God. With his old battered hat, the adventure in charity he started in 1947 has raised and given away more than $US 3 billion.
His love of the poor was legendary and always close to his heart. While studying for the priesthood he scored rather poorly in a Theology exam. His professor suggested that he should strive for higher marks next time round. ‘How many marks’? Werenfried asked. ‘Twenty out of twenty’, answered the professor. The next exam Werenfried scored a perfect 20/20 and scribbled on the bottom of the page: “10 will do, the rest is for the poor”.
Father Werenfried’s faith filled life and commitment to the poor and persecuted will live on in the hearts of his supporters around the world, for his motto in life was “God is much better than we think. And not only God, but people too are better than we think.”

For further information please contact
Phillip Collignon
Phone/Fax:02 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org
Internet: www.aidtochurch.org

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org