Irish born ACN Head of Projects to travel with Pope to Iraq
As we get closer to the Papal visit to Iraq, it has been announced that the Irish born Head of Projects at ACN International, Regina Lynch, will travel with the Papal delegation to Iraq. Regina will be traveling as an official representative of ROACO, which supports Eastern Catholics. Regina has worked for 40 years on Christians persecution.
By ACN Staff
Regina Lynch, Director of Projects at Aid to the Church in Need International. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
It has been announced that Regina Lynch, Director of Projects at Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) International, will travel with the Papal delegation to Iraq, as an official representative of ROACO (The Reunion of Aid Agencies to the Oriental Churches), a papal organisation that supports the Eastern Catholic Churches.
Regina Lynch speaking with Sister Amanda, who had to flee ISIS in Iraq. (Credit: Aid to the Church in Need)
The Pope’s visit to Iraq will take place on 5th-8th March. Regina Lynch is originally from Ireland, specifically Northern Ireland, and has been Head of Projects for ACN International since 2008. Regina has worked for the last 40 years in helping Christians who face persecution, discrimination or have other acute needs.
The first time Regina visited Iraq was 2008. However, she particularly remembers her visit to Iraq was in August 2014. This was days after ISIS had invaded the Christian heartland in Iraq, the Nineveh Plains, causing the expulsion of the Christians from their ancestorial homeland. Regina has travelled to over 30 countries, but this will be the first time she travels with a Papal delegation. Regina explains the importance of the Papal visiting including representatives of ROAC:
“Including a representative of ROACO in the papal entourage of the upcoming papal visit is a tangible sign of how much the Holy See values the work of the agencies in the Middle East, East and Central Europe, India, Eritrea and Ethiopia.
Regina also said:
The Holy Father’s trip to Iraq is such a sign of encouragement, a message of hope to the Iraqi Christians who have been tested in their faith all down the centuries. And you know, when you are a minority, you can feel very alone sometimes. You can feel abandoned, and the fact that Pope Francis is coming now in such a difficult time is going to give the Iraqi Christians hope.”
Regina is particularly honoured to be a representative of ROACO as part of the delegation, and feels that the organisation shows the solidarity between the Western and Eastern halves of the Universal Church:
“We are very grateful for the existence of the ROACO. It is not only a source of information and an advocate of projects from the Eastern Catholic Churches, but it also provides a platform for important exchanges among those agencies such as ACN, which commits itself to supporting both spiritually and financially these ancient Churches with their unique heritage. And in so doing we help the Church to breath with both lungs – from the East and the West.”
ACN has been working in Iraq since 1972. Between 2011 and 2020, ACN has given €49.5 million in aid to the Church in Iraq. If you want to learn more about the Pope’s visit to Iraq and ACN’s work in the Middle East, please visit our Lenten Campaign page.