Caritas Poland () is a Polish

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

not-for-profit

social welfare Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance p ...

and

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

relief organisation. It is a service of the Polish Bishops' Conference and the largest social welfare and charitable organisation in the country. Caritas Poland is a member of both

Caritas Europa Caritas Europa is a European confederation of Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billi ...

and

Caritas Internationalis Caritas Internationalis (Latin for ) is a confederation of 162 national Catholic relief, development, and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. The name Caritas Internationalis refers to both the ...

History

By the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, there were different attempts to centralise and coordinate the Catholic Church's charitable activities in Poland. After the

Second Polish Republic The Second Polish Republic, at the time officially known as the Republic of Poland, was a country in Central and Eastern Europe that existed between 7 October 1918 and 6 October 1939. The state was established in the final stage of World War I ...

was established in 1918, this process accelerated. In 1922, an association of Polish Catholic charitable societies was created in

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

and adopted the name Caritas. It was modelled after the German Caritas, which had been founded 25 years prior. Soon, Caritas associations were established in almost all

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

s. Work included care for children and young people, including through the founding of

orphanage An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusi ...

s and other institutions. However, the further development of Caritas structures was interrupted by the outbreak of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Immediately after liberation in 1945, Archbishop Sapieha established a national Caritas headquarters, in accordance with the resolution of the

Polish Episcopal Conference The Polish Episcopal Conference or Polish Bishops' Conference ( or KEP) is the central organ of the Catholic Church in Poland. It is composed of 3 cardinals, 24 archbishops and 118 bishops. 21st century In 2018, KEP completed a survey on cleric ...

. In the context of large-scale destruction and huge shortages and needs, the Catholic Church joined in providing all kinds of help to the population. Branches of the renewed Caritas were established in parishes. The communist authorities and the increased

sovietization Sovietization ( ) is the adoption of a political system based on the model of soviets (workers' councils) or the adoption of a way of life, mentality, and culture modeled after the Soviet Union. A notable wave of Sovietization (in the second me ...

of the country stood in the way of the dynamically developing union. They saw the philanthropic activity of the Church as actions undermining their authority. The first restrictions on church organisations also appeared to reduce their influence on young people. On 12 January 1950, at a meeting of the Secretariat of the

Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party Central Committee of the Polish United Workers' Party (, KC PZPR) was the central ruling body of the Polish United Workers' Party, the dominant political party in the People's Republic of Poland (1948-1990). Functions Members of the Committee con ...

, a plan was adopted to completely liquidate the Caritas organisation in Poland, under the pretext of embezzlement of funds. The liquidation took place on 23 January 1950 and the state took over its subordinate institutions. However, the end of the church structures as Caritas did not mean the cessation of the church's charitable activities, which continued at a lower scale. This activity was coordinated by the Polish Episcopal Commission for the Pastoral Care of Mercy, which was renamed the Polish Episcopal Charitable Commission in 1981. Departments of charitable pastoral care were established in individual dioceses, and charity teams were established in parishes. In 1989, the state and the church signed an agreement which made it possible to reactivate Caritas Poland and the diocesan Caritas. Caritas Poland was reactivated per a decree of the

of 10 October 1990 as an institution drawing inspiration from the charitable and social activities conducted in Poland before the Communist regime. After the

fall of communism The revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, were a revolutionary wave of liberal democracy movements that resulted in the collapse of most Marxist–Leninist governments in the Eastern Bloc and other parts of the world. Th ...

in Poland, Caritas Poland grew massively. In the 21st century, Caritas Poland and its diocesan structures operate over 1,000 centres specialised in social assistance and in the field of medical and educational care. In 2021, the

National Bank of Poland The Narodowy Bank Polski (; the National Bank of Poland), often abbreviated to NBP, is the central bank of Poland, founded in 1945. It controls the issuing of Poland's currency, the Polish złoty. The bank is headquartered in Warsaw, and has bra ...

issued a special collector's coin in honour of the 30th anniversary of the reactivation of Caritas Poland.

Structure

Caritas Poland operates through a national office and 44

diocesan In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

and archdiocesan Caritas organisations across the country. The national office serves as the central coordinating body and also takes on formative and informative responsibilities. This includes conducting training courses, symposia, and conducting assessments to identify the extent of poverty in Poland. In addition to its coordination and educational functions, the national office plays an operational role by leading nationwide

fundraising Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

initiatives both domestically and internationally. Caritas Poland organises

transports and provides emergency and long-term assistance, offering material, psychological, legal, and financial aid to various vulnerable groups such as the unemployed, homeless persons, the sick, the elderly, children from struggling families, immigrants, and refugees. The diocesan structures of Caritas Poland are:

Work

In 2022, Caritas Poland supported around 412,000 people with food aid, including 340,000 who received regular assistance. The organisation distributed more than 14,000 tons of food for a value of around 131.5 million złoty. In addition, around 47,500 children received material, educational or psychological. In addition, Caritas Poland provided support abroad in 33 countries on four continents at a level of more than 63 million złoty.

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Caritas Poland Charities based in Poland Social justice organizations Humanitarian aid organizations in Europe Organizations established in 1990 1990 establishments in Poland Catholic Church in Poland

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

Development charities based in Poland Refugee aid organizations in Europe Christian organizations established in 1990