The Bishop of the Algarve has announced the creation of a charity fund (Fundo Solidário) to support families and communities severely affected by recent destructive storms.
Announcing the initiative in his pastoral message for Lent, Manuel Neto Quintas called on the “generosity” of Algarve residents to provide concrete support for those facing hardship.
This year’s traditional Lenten Renunciation – the monetary sacrifice made by the faithful during the 40-day period – “will be entirely allocated” to the fund, according to a statement from the Algarve Diocese.
According to the bishop, the faithful have an opportunity to live the period before Easter with “not just spirituality, but concrete acts of helping others”.
Manuel Quintas stresses that tribulation “is not an abstract word, but a visible reality in the ‘social wounds’ and in the suffering caused by natural catastrophes.”
The fund will be managed by Cáritas Diocesana do Algarve, with the aim of ensuring support reaches those in “extreme need.”
The Bishop of Faro also recalled that, in coordination with Cáritas of Leiria, the Algarve diocese has already sent around 11 tonnes of essential goods to the worst-affected areas.
“In a time when so many tribulations wound human dignity, shatter so many dreams and bring down so many families (…), severely hit by the bad weather that has mercilessly struck some regions of our country, we are called to practice acts of mercy,” Manuel Quintas wrote.
In his 2026 pastoral message, he also calls for a “conversion to listening,” underlining that “Christian patience is not resignation,” but rather a “confident firmness” that leads people to support those who suffer.
The Diocese of the Algarve is inviting “all citizens, believers and people of good will” to contribute to the fund, either through parish collections or directly via Cáritas Diocesana.
Lent is a 40-day period in the Christian calendar, not counting Sundays, leading up to Easter. This year it begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18, and ends on Holy Thursday, April 2.
