By Deborah Castellano Lubov
Through the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa, Catholics in the United States have an opportunity to support the Church in Africa.
The fund was created nearly two decades ago by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to support the Catholic Church on a continent where the faith is growing rapidly, but where the Church has limited capacity to support its pastoral needs and faces severe hardships.
In the wake of Pope Leo’s Apr 13-23, 2026, Apostolic Journey to four countries across the continent, the US Bishops are reminding the faithful how they too can join Pope Leo’s voice in caring for the continent by supporting the Church in Africa through the fund, which, in 2025, awarded 97 grants totaling over $3 million dollars.
Grants underwrite projects across continent
Archbishop Thomas Zinkula, chairman of the USCCB’s Subcommittee on the Church in Africa, explained, “The gifts of Catholics in the United States to the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa underwrite projects that build foundations for peace, as well as projects directed toward evangelization, vocations, environmental stewardship, leadership formation, and other facets of our faith.”
“My prayer is that those gifts will increase in response to our Holy Father’s call for peace and reconciliation in Africa,” Archbishop Zinkula said. “I have seen the impact of your gifts and can attest that whatever you contribute will be used wisely and well.”
Many dioceses will take up the collection in their parishes this summer. #iGiveCatholic also accepts online gifts for the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa here.
Archbishop Zinkula recalled that Pope Leo has called us to solidarity with our sisters and brothers in Africa, noting “that is precisely what the Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa makes possible.”
Concretely supports populations facing hardships
The USCCB provided examples of the 2025 grants.
In Mali, where many children grow up believing war and terrorism are a normal part of life, a grant supported an intensive Bible camp for more than 200 young adults from across the nation, where they learned Gospel values, as well as the Second Vatican Council’s teachings on religious freedom and interreligious dialogue.
A grant in Sudan, which faces the world’s largest humanitarian crisis caused by war, supported 223 lay catechists in the Nuba Mountains and Abyei region by providing transportation, food, lodging, and training materials for a three-month course on evangelization, pastoral care, and sacramental preparation.
The USCCB noted they are now better equipped to minister to a population that includes thousands of people displaced by the violence in a region served by very few priests.
Source of solidarity and pastoral presence
As wars and conflict across the Horn of Africa attracted human traffickers who prey on the vulnerable, another grant supported workshops for Church leaders throughout the region to raise awareness of human trafficking, design prevention strategies, and train pastoral ministers to assist victims.
A grant from the Solidarity Fund in Burkina Faso, a Church whose Bishops set a goal of making their dioceses self-supporting despite widespread violence and poverty, provided training for staff from all 15 dioceses and the national Bishops’ Conference to develop sustainable plans for managing and supporting the Church’s ministry
Finally, in the Central African Republic, where poor roads leave many communities isolated, a grant enabled the Marianist Sisters to train “Gospel volunteers” and equip them with bicycles to distribute Bibles and rosaries. The bicycles, the US Bishops note, have greatly enhanced their ministry by allowing them to reach thousands of families. – Vatican News
