Caritas Christmas Eve in Poznań. Over 1,300 people under one roof

1,300 guests, single and poor people, showed up at the Poznań International Fair on Wednesday for a Christmas Eve meeting. For years, it has been the largest Christmas Eve celebration for those in need organized under one roof in the country.

The meeting is organized by Caritas of the Archdiocese of Poznań in cooperation with the city. The event was attended by, among others: Metropolitan Archbishop Zbigniew Zieliński of Poznań, Mayor of Poznań Jacek Jaśkowiak and chairman of the city council Grzegorz Ganowicz.

Before the scouts brought the Light of Bethlehem and lit candles on the tables. Then a fragment of the Gospel about the birth of Jesus was read.

– There is no event that would better reflect the essence of Christmas than Caritas Christmas Eve in Poznań, organized for the needy, the poor and the homeless.. This is an expression of solidarity of volunteers, many donors, cooperation of the Church, the city and all those who are not indifferent to the fate of other people – said the mayor of Poznań, Jacek Jaśkowiak.

A total of 550 liters of borscht with dumplings, 500 kg of cabbage with mushrooms, 500 kg of fried carp and 441 sheets of dough were prepared for the meeting guests. The meals were prepared by sisters from four Poznań eateries, and the cakes were prepared by volunteers from Caritas parish teams and people from outside the organization.

– As believers, but also all people of good will, we think not only about our own Christmas experience. Let us remember that those in need may be behind the wall, in the next house, right next to us, said Archbishop Zieliński.

Each Caritas Christmas Eve participant also received a Christmas food parcel. About 200 people who could not get there were visited by volunteers at home – with a meal and a Christmas parcel..

More than 200 volunteers, young people from schools, and nuns from Poznań eateries – Franciscan, Ursuline, Albertine and Elizabethan nuns took part in preparing and distributing meals and decorating tables. The Caritas Christmas Eve was held thanks to money from the city budget and thanks to partners, including leading Poznań companies.

Caritas spokeswoman Maria Książkiewicz said that poor people come to MTP on Christmas Eve, living on a disability pension or a modest pension, often in debt, and often lacking money for basic fees and medicines. Single people who have experienced many losses or those who have no one to spend the holidays with due to conflicts with loved ones or difficult family situations also sit at the tables. Homeless people also come.

– The team working on the preparations is particularly interested in them. It is those who do not have their own homes who live in tents, empty buildings, barracks, and collapsing gazebos. At Caritas, we see them as unexpected guests who will find an empty table setting on every family table, said the spokeswoman. (PAP)

rpo/mro/