Unexploded ordnance lying on rubble and wet ground

Our Story

We began with the simple belief, inspired by prayer, that persecuted Christians need a voice through advocacy, and practical help to keep them in their native lands. Through years of experience with local communities, we have built a small, unique charity, supported entirely by donations. Real lives, real people, real families, helped by our voice and action.

Our Mission

Empowering Communities Through Action

The mission is simple, practical and straightforward: to aid and advocate for persecuted Christians throughout the world, with a particular focus on the Middle East, the cradle of Christianity. Advocacy is the principal work of Fr. Ben, the only priest in the world dedicated to this full time mission - speaking, writing, media - to raise awareness and offer solutions. Aid is focused on mini micro-financing small families businesses, to enable Christians to stay in their native lands, not emigrate, and build a future for their children.

Our founder

Father Benedict Kiely

A call within a call

Father Benedict Kiely was born in London, England, on July 24, 1963, and ordained a Catholic priest in Canterbury on November 12, 1994. He spent his first five years as a priest ministering in London and working in Catholic media. In 1999, he moved to the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, where he served for nearly 17 years as a parish priest.

Following the outbreak of violence across the Middle East in 2014, Father Ben began helping persecuted Christians from his parish in Stowe, Vermont. He first visited war-torn Iraq in early 2015. After several further visits, he perceived a ‘call within a call’ to dedicate his priestly ministry to aid and advocacy for persecuted Christians.

In 2016, he founded Nasarean as a 501(c)(3) charity in Stowe and, with his bishop’s permission, began developing this mission. He was incardinated in the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham in 2019 and, with his bishop’s permission and full faculties, devotes himself full time to this work.

Through repeated visits to the Middle East and beyond, Father Ben has developed extensive firsthand experience of the persecution Christians face. He speaks at conferences, on podcasts and radio, and writes for journals. His media appearances include the BBC, Fox News, Newsmax and GB News, helping bring the voices of persecuted Christians to a wider audience.

Our Values