By Anjela Ferry

By Alexia Bangayan

On Wednesday, November 26, the Ateneo Senior High School (ASHS) community commemorated the global Red Wednesday, responding to Aid to the Church in Need’s (ACN) call to remember persecuted Christians through prayer, solidarity, and symbolic action.

Reflecting on this year’s theme ‘‘Living Hope Amidst Suffering,’’ the day’s observance began with a Mass at St. Aloysius Gonzaga Chapel, wherein all ASHS students were invited to gather in communal prayer.

Led by school chaplain Fr. Noel Bava, SJ, the paraliturgy was broadcast through the school’s public address (PA) system, in which he mentioned Pope Leo XIV’s call “to bear witness to the truth that saves the world, to the justice that redeems peoples from oppression, to the hope that shows everyone the way to peace.”

The message was referenced in connection with recent reports from Nigeria, where 303 children were kidnapped by gunmen from a Catholic school and 50 have since escaped.

The program guided the community through a video reflection, prayerful silence, remembrance, offering intercessions, and final blessings.

The video highlighted ACN’s mission of building a ‘‘bridge of love,’’ that supports persecuted Christians through concrete aid, global awareness efforts, and unwavering commitment to sustaining hope in regions facing violence.

Members of the ASHS community were encouraged to wear red to partake in this remembrance of the persecuted Christians.

The ACN established the campaign of Red Wednesday in 2015 to raise awareness on the rising difficulty that Christian experience in practicing their faith — a mission supported by its work in over 145 countries and by more than 5,000 projects handled annually.