Text archives

In our text archives we have information (mostly in the form of press cuttings) relating to almost every country in the world. They include information on important events, dates and personalities of Church and political life, as well as background information on Church activities in the various countries and dioceses. In evaluating the newspapers and journal articles (346 titles) in many different languages, and the other sources (reports by our own staff and project partners, interviews with visitors from all over the world) our focus is always on the main priorities and mission of our organisation. The main bulk of our archives concern the situation of the Catholic and

Orthodox Churches in Central and Eastern Europe, and the repression or persecution of Christians in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

In selecting our archive material we have also focused on documenting the development and activities of our organisation, especially on the many-sided activities of Father Werenfried.

• I. Countries
  
  
• II. Personalities
  
  
• III. Subject headings
  
  
• IV. "Church in Need" congresses
  
  
• V. Papal journeys
  
  
• VI. Father Werenfried
  
  
• VII. Origin and development of ACN
  

We use this archive material principally as a basis for our Information Service reports, such as press communications, articles and interviews. In addition we use them as background information for the "Mirror" and, not least to provide information for our national offices. Finally our text archives are also used by interested parties from outside the organisation, by benefactors, priests, religious sisters, scholars, journalists and students. They use them principally as sources on the topics of the Church in need in various countries, on the persecution of the Faith, the activities of our organisation and other Church-related topics.

Photo Archives

Ever since our charity began, Aid to the Church in Need has maintained a photo library in which can be found photographs of almost all the major events from the over 50 years of our existence. But our documentation includes not only historic events, for even today we received hundreds of pictures from all around the world at our Königstein international headquarters. They come from parishes and dioceses, which have received help from ACN, and they document the progress of their projects or illustrate their urgent need for support in the projects they have planned. And our own staffs bring back pictures from foreign trips, when they go to assess the situation of our brothers and sisters in the Faith, on the spot in the countries concerned. These too show the planned projects and shed interesting light on them.

All these photos are catalogued and classified in our archives, with captions and numbers, and kept for various uses. Some are used by the press, who frequently need photographs from inaccessible regions of the world. They are likewise used by our own Information Service for our publicity work, and by our national offices, which also use them to provide information for potential donors.

Our photo archive material is classified under the following headings:

• Group I - historical pictures
  This group includes many black and white photos and slides, which document the founding and early development of ACN.
  
  
  
• Group II - project photos
  This includes the bulk of our project photos since 1978. The majority of all our archive photos belong to this group. The great majority are amateur colour photos, but they also include slides. They come from all the countries of the world where Christians are supported by "Aid to the Church in Need" - in other words from almost everywhere.
  
  
• Group III - travel photos
  During their visits to the various countries, our own staff - and occasionally also professional photographers - take photographs. These document the projects and convey a general impression of the countries visited. They include both colour photographs and slides.
  
  
• Group IV - people
  This group includes pictures of the founder of our charity, Father Werenfried van Straaten. They also include photos and slides of the various personalities and visitors to our organisation - cardinals, bishops, priests, religious and laity, and many, many other pictures.
  
  
• Group V - miscellaneous subjects e.g.
  This group contains photos on the following subjects:
  -the "Chapel Trucks"
  -our Children's Bible
  -displays and exhibitions
  -congresses and meetings
  -miscellaneous pictures of ACN