On Christmas Eve, at least 160 people who are homeless or lonely due to various life circumstances will be able to feel the festive atmosphere, eat traditional dishes and sing carols.
On the day of Christmas Eve, 24 December, a festive dinner for people in need will be held in Lviv. The traditional annual charity initiative “Bethlehem Feast” is organised by the Ukrainian Catholic University. This year, for the first time, about 60 people under the care of the Dzherelo Social Service Centre – homeless, lonely elderly people, and families in difficult life circumstances – will join the event. In total, the event will be held for at least 160 Lviv residents in need.
First, there will be a worship service in the university church of St Sophia, the Wisdom of God, at 13:45. The Christmas lunch, which will include all the traditional dishes of the Ukrainian table, will take place afterwards in the UCU Refectory Hall (2a Kozelnytska Street).
The lunch for people in need was made possible thanks to the help and donations of caring people and benefactors. UCU has been holding this event for about 30 years at the expense of benefactors. The Dzherelo Centre raised funds to compensate for the costs of its wards from the Caritas Germany Foundation, which has been its partner for many years.
By the way, the Christmas Eve for the needy was introduced by Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, who distributed gifts to people in need, including not only Christians but also Jewish children, at the Theological Academy every year on the eve of the Christmas holidays. After resuming its activities, the Ukrainian Catholic University has maintained this tradition for 30 years.
Everyone who cares is asked to help collect warm clothes and shoes for those who are homeless. In winter, when the temperature drops significantly outside, the number of people who come to the Dzherela night shelter on Kyrylivska Street, the only city shelter for the homeless in Lviv, increases. The biggest shortage is of warm men’s clothing: sweaters, trousers, winter jackets, hats, gloves, socks and shoes of size 42 and above. However, there are enough clothes for women.
In winter, the city also initiated the “Caring for Everyone” campaign, during which a “Caring Bus” departs from the Powder Tower every Friday at 10:00 am for homeless people. It takes people in need to centres where they receive a full range of basic social services: showers, a change of clothes or shoes, food, medical check-ups, hairdressing services, etc.