05/09/2024
The United Nations (UN) has designated September 5 as INTERNATIONAL DAY OF CHARITY.
For the UN, charity is the main driver of a more inclusive and resilient society, aiming to alleviate the worst effects of humanitarian crises and material poverty.
The decision was taken during the United Nations General Assembly in 2012, through Resolution 67/105. In setting this date, the General Assembly emphasized that poverty is a concrete threat to peace. The UN aims to draw attention to the need to eradicate material poverty through the realization of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with poverty eradication being the first of these.
With this day, the UN also wants to recognize the key role of the private sector, civil society, volunteerism, NGOs and philanthropic initiatives, as they actively contribute to creating an enabling environment for poverty reduction worldwide.
In addition, the United Nations wants to raise the visibility of charitable organizations and increase the mobilization of civil society, to help those in need through the voluntary and generous work of millions of people. This includes the Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SSVP) and all the other branches of the Vincentian Family around the world, whose volunteers are selfless and committed to building a more just and fraternal world.
Our model, St. Vincent de Paul, was named in 1885 by Pope Leo XIII “patron of all works of charity in the Catholic Church” and today, he continues to be one of the great references in the field of charity for all humanity. Let us remember that this appointment arose from a request of the Conferences of St. Vincent de Paul in France, so that he would be named patron of the works of charity for the French territory, a fact that took place in 1883, coinciding with the fiftieth anniversary of the Conferences. A year later, in 1884, he would also be declared by the pope patron of all the dioceses of Ireland.
The UN’s inspiration for choosing September 5 as International Charity Day is related to the anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa of Calcutta on September 5, 1997 and who was canonized by Pope Francis in September 2016.
United Nations Department
Council General International