Caritas Week runs from February 25 to March 3, an initiative of the Catholic institution that in the Azores begins with a soiree entitled “The Love that Transforms,” which will take place on Sunday, the 25th, at the Angra Museum, at 17:30.
“Caritas Week is a unique opportunity to highlight Caritas’ tireless work in direct support of all those who need help, reflecting on social action, promoting pastoral activities and raising essential funds for the continuation of our mission,” says a note sent to Sítio Igreja Açores by the organization on the island of Terceira.
The event will feature a presentation by journalist Eduarda Mendes and the participation of notable figures such as Father José Júlio Rocha, assistant to the Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission and Episcopal Vicar for Clergy and Formation, Rita Olaio Andrade, Filipe Fernandes, Valdeci Purim and José Maria Saldanha, as well as musical entertainment by Jonathan Afonso and an exhibition of photographs by Luís Godinho.


During the week, Terceira Island will be one of the stages for the National Public Peditory, which takes place from February 26 to March 3. A wave of volunteers and friends of Cáritas will travel the island and the country, appealing to everyone’s generosity. This year, the in-person appeal will occur in selected Akiperto stores and on March 1, 2, and 3 in the Guaritas supermarkets in Terra do Pão, Angra, Porto Judeu, and Praia da Vitória. At the same time, the online petition will be accessible via the official Caritas website.
Caritas Week will end with the celebration of a Eucharist on March 3, at 10:30 a.m., in the Parish Church of São Brás on Terceira Island.
During the week, several radio spots will also be broadcast to raise awareness of the Caritas project.
“What we do, how we do it, who we serve… We need people to know us and our projects so they feel we are close to them,” Maria do Natal Sousa, the new president of Caritas on Terceira island, told Igreja Açores. She will be the guest on the Igreja Açores radio program next Sunday, aired after midday on Rádio Clube de Angra and Antena 1 Açores.


In 2023, the institution provided 500 services and accompanied 350 families, 340 children, and 250 young people. The money raised during Caritas Week is used to pay for health and small household expenses and support the purchase of food baskets.
“Your contribution is essential if we are to continue our mission to combat poverty and social exclusion. We count on your support and solidarity, reiterating our commitment to be ‘ever closer to our neighbors’. Together, we can make a difference. We’re counting on you!” says the aforementioned note.
In Vila Franca do Campo, on the island of São Miguel, the Caritas Center will be inaugurated on Saturday, March 2, with a special “listening and guidance” service for people with addictions.
In his message for Caritas Week 2024, the President of the Episcopal Commission for Social Pastoral Care and Human Mobility, José Traquina, drew attention to the “worrying” reality at the national and world levels, marked by war and poverty.
“The wars and conflicts in various countries, the thousands of migrants in search of a better life, the families without sufficient income, the homeless poor, the social institutions in constant concern for their viability, the political social instability. This is a worrying reality that challenges us all,” reads the message for Caritas Week, whose theme is ‘Love that transforms.’


The initiative is presented as an opportunity “to value and share” the gift that moves people “to pay attention to human reality in the context of a time recommended for reviewing life and the journey towards Easter,” the document stresses.
‘Amor-Cáritas,’ says the bishop of Santarém, is the “spiritual dynamism” that makes people come out of themselves and take an interest “in their fellow human beings.”
This week is also an opportunity to “value and thank the witness of all those who work as volunteers and/or professionals in the Caritas network in Portugal, and who carry out part of the Church’s mission in social action,” writes Bishop José Traquina.
“It’s a week during which we try to highlight the work of Caritas in providing direct support to all those people who need help for whatever reason. Throughout the country, there are many activities to reflect on social action, pastoral activities and also fundraising initiatives,” the Catholic organization says.
Caritas is a network that is organized at the local (parish), diocesan, national, European, and international levels; in Portugal, it is present in the country’s 20 dioceses, united in Caritas Portuguesa and in local groups that work near the populations, be them metropolitan or rural, in an array of parishes/
The national network annually supports around 120,000 people through diocesan Caritas and parish groups.

In years past, here in California, many Portuguese radio programs had radiothons to help the Azores and these social causes.

in Correio dos Açores, Natalino Viveiros, director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Cultures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance)  at California State University, Fresno–PBBI thanks the sponsorship of the Luso-American Development Foundation from Lisbon, Portugal (FLAD)