This book, written in 1996, is a vibrant testimony to the work and achievements of Father Werenfried Van Straaten of the Premonstratensian order. This Dutch priest became, in the aftermath of the Second World War, the driving force behind the Aid to the Church in Need.
Initially, the focus was primarily on the persecuted Church in countries that had fallen under the yoke of the USSR. Refugees needed to be welcomed, and the continuity of the biblical message among these uprooted populations had to be ensured. Then the effort extended directly beyond the Iron Curtain, where the Church was persecuted by the communists.
Father Werenfried then brought his message and aid worldwide. Wherever Christians were either persecuted or in the deepest misery, he was there.
Jean Bourdarias takes us in the footsteps of this giant of charity, this priest who shunned neither effort nor threats. We follow him in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Everywhere, he found a solution. One might say, you just have to believe.
Yes, Father Werenfried believed, with a faith engraved in the depths of his being, and one will think of Christ’s words: “If you had faith as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this tree to be thrown into the sea, and it would obey.”
Thierry Jan
