Walking out of Mass from a small chapel within St Peter’s Basilica, Bernard Toutounji pondered on how extraordinary it was that this vast church, filled with marble and gold, rests upon the grave of a fisherman from Galilee.
Though 2000 years apart, the National Director of Aid to the Church in Need Australia & New Zealand (ACN) deeply felt like one of St Peter’s spiritual descendants, being charged to go out to strengthen the faith of others around the world.
This spiritual experience was the culmination of a day of prayer, friendship, and profound joy meeting Pope Leo XIV, the successor of St Peter, at his Apostolic Palace at the Vatican.
Bernard was one of a number of national directors of Aid to the Church in Need who was received by Pope Leo XIV at a private audience on 10 October.
The delegation was led by Cardinal Mauro Piacenza, ACN’s International President, Regina Lynch, Executive President of the Foundation, representatives from many national offices as well as the Editorial Committee’s leadership of the Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025.
Marking 25 years of the foundation and celebrating its continued mission to defend the right to religious freedom and to give a voice to Christians who suffer for their faith around the world, Pope Leo XIV spoke about the importance of religious freedom and the church’s duty to defend it wherever it is threatened.
“Your visit is timely, for our world continues to witness rising hostility and violence against those who hold different convictions, including many Christians,” said the Holy Father in his address to the delegation.
“In contrast, your mission proclaims that, as one family in Christ, we do not abandon our persecuted brothers and sisters.
“Rather, we remember them, we stand with them, and we labour to secure their God-given freedoms.”
Pope Leo XIV underlined that “the right to religious freedom is not optional but essential,” describing it as “a cornerstone of any just society, for it safeguards the moral space in which conscience may be formed and exercised.”
He also reminded the audience that religious freedom is not merely a legal right or privilege granted to us by governments but “a foundational condition that makes authentic reconciliation possible.”
Acknowledging the important milestone for ACN, Pope Leo XIV also recalled the origins of the foundation and highlighted the tangible fruits of ACN’s mission across the world including the support he himself received in the Diocese of Chiclayo in Peru.
During the audience, the national directors of Aid to the Church in Need presented to the Holy Father the first advance copy of its forthcoming Religious Freedom in the World Report 2025, which will be officially launched on 21 October in Rome, along with a number of personal gifts.
The Executive President of ACN International Regina Lynch, presented Pope Leo XIV with an icon made from the wood of the destroyed ceiling of the Maronite Cathedral of Saint Elias in Aleppo, representing the resilience of Christian communities in the Middle East and the renewal of faith amid devastation.
The cathedral, severely damaged during the conflict in Syria, was later restored with the support of Aid to the Church in Need and reopened on 20 July 2020, the feast of its patron saint.
For Bernard, it was important that a gift for the pope from the Benefactors of Aid to the Church in Need Australia & New Zealand was both culturally significant but also personal to him and his family.
“An Akubra hat had already been given by another Australian couple, and a bottle of wine seemed risky for the flight, so I eventually settled on something that spoke of home: a painting of the Three Sisters in the Blue Mountains, not far from ACN’s Australian office,” said the ACN Australian National Director.
“I wanted the gift to have a touch of sweetness as well, so I added a box of Haigh’s Chocolates, Australia’s oldest chocolatier, and I invited our five children to create a card for the Holy Father.
“Clare (11) wrote a message inside, Louise (10) drew Christ and the Apostles on a boat as fishers of men, Nicholas (7) sketched the pope for the front, while Isabel (5) and little Anna (3) added stars and colourful shapes.
“It became a joyful labour of love, and to me it symbolised what ACN truly is – faith lived within families.”
Bernard added that “to stand before the successor of Peter, to present our work and receive his blessing is a privilege beyond words.”
“Pope Leo’s warmth and joy were unmistakable, and his message still rings in my ears.
“That morning in the Apostolic Palace was not only a personal highlight, but it was a moment of grace for our mission, our benefactors, and for all who love the church.”
To learn more about the work of Aid to the Church in Need visit www.aidtochurch.org
