ACN Red Week

ACN Red Week
Frequency	Annual
Country	Worldwide
Years active	2015 - present
Most recent	November 19–26, 2023

Red Week (sometimes rendered #RedWeek) is an annual global campaign that takes place in November, aimed at calling attention to the issue of persecution of Christians. In some countries the event is concentrated on a particular Wednesday and labelled Red Wednesday (#RedWednesday).

The event is promoted by international Roman Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), and events are hosted in many countries where the organisation has national offices, but also in others, such as Croatia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Peru and Guatemala. Events can include conferences and exhibitions, but the most visible are the lighting in red of landmarks, such as the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, the Colosseum and the Trevi Fountain in Rome, or the Montmarte church in Paris, among many others.

Although ACN is a Catholic organisation, Red Week and Red Wednesday highlight the persecution of all Christians, and events in different countries have had the backing of other religious confessions.

History

The first Red Week was held in Brazil, in 2015, to call attention to the persecution of Christian communities in Iraq. The idea was picked up by other national offices of ACN and replicated over the following years, becoming a global movement.

Pope Francis specifically thanked Polish Catholics for their participation in Red Week events in November 2022, and UK Prime-Minister Rishi Sunak mentioned the event in Parliament in 2023, calling it "an important moment to demonstrate our solidarity with Christians and all those persecuted around the world for their religion or belief”, before adding: “I’m pleased that today we will light up Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office buildings in the UK in red in support”.

Red Wednesday

Red Wednesday (sometimes rendered #RedWednesday) developed from, and is part of, the Red Week initiative, promoted by international Roman Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. Besides organising conferences and other events, the date is often marked by the lighting in red of houses of worship or public buildings.

Celebrating the date on a chosen Wednesday, rather than marking the entire Red Week, has occurred mostly in English speaking countries with ACN offices, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia, but also in others, such as the Philippines.

In the UK the date has become politically significant, with the Anglican bishop of Truro, Philip Mounstephen, recommending its adoption by the Government, in his report on the reform of the Foreign Office and its handling of the issue of persecution of Christians. In 2023, prime-minister Rishi Sunak mentioned Red Wednesday while answering questions in Parliament, describing it as "an important moment to demonstrate our solidarity with Christians and all those persecuted around the world for their religion or belief". The date has taken on an ecumenical dimension in the UK, having received backing by the aforementioned Anglican Bishop of Truro, as well as the Coptic Orthodox Archbishop Angaelos of London

In 2023 the UK national office of Aid to the Church in Need established the first "Courage to be a Christian" award, which was given to Margaret and Dominic Attah, from Nigeria, in representation of the scores of victims of the Pentecost Sunday church attack in Owo, Ondo State, Nigeria, which took place on 5 June. 2022. Margaret Attah, a nurse, lost both her legs in the attack, which killed over 40 people and wounded over 80.