initial work led to the formation of Aid to the Church in Need (Kirche in Not), centered in Königstein, Germany, in 1952. After 1950, he was active in Catholic relief work worldwide, through church appeals, public speaking, and his newsletter, The Mirror, which he began publishing in 1953. After the plight of the expellees in the newly founded Federal Republic of Germany was largely alleviated, his concern became the persecuted church in the now communist-dominated Eastern Europe. After the collapse of the Soviet regime, he tried to bridge the trenches to the Catholic Church, through generous help to the Russian Orthodox Church. Werenfried van Straaten succeeded in combining charitable engagement with dedication to the proclamation of the faith. For his life's work he was honored many times by the Church and the State. He also wrote a number of books, including They Call Me The Bacon Priest (1960). In his later years he was active in anti-abortion activism, demonstrating and speaking out against abortion in Western Europe and the United States. He died on 31 January 2003 at Bad Soden in Germany at the age of 90 years. He is buried in the cemetery of Königstein im Taunus. Werenfried Prize At the 3rd International Congress Treffpunkt Weltkirche, held from 11 to 13 April 2008, in Augsburg, the Father Werenfried Prize was awarded for the first time to the Friends of the St. Clemens Church in Berlin. This prize, endowed with 1000 euros, was awarded jointly with the Katholische Sonntagszeitung. At the 5th international congress of Treffpunkt Weltkirche, held from 12 to 15 March 2015, in Würzburg, the Father Werenfried Prize was awarded to Gabriele Kuby. Sexual Assault Allegation In 2021 Die Zeit published an article which made known the existence of a letter from 2010 indicating that Van Straaten was accused of committing sexual assault in 1973 against a 20-year-old woman working for the charity. In a statement consisting of questions and answers, Aid to the Church in Need responded to the disclosure and noted that "ACN deeply regrets the serious allegations and condemns any kind of behavior of which Father van Straaten has been accused in the article." Books They Call Me The Bacon Priest, New City Press, Belgium, 1965. Where God Weeps, Ignatius Press, San Francisco, 1989. References External links Obituary of Father Werenfried van Straaten, The Daily Telegraph (London, England), Feb. 1, 2003. 1913 births 2003 deaths