SCIAF is marking its 60th anniversary in 2025 with a number of events and campaigns across the year
A Scottish charity has been congratulated on 60 years of service to the world’s poor by the pope.
Pope Francis sent a Papal blessing all the way from Rome to SCIAF – the official aid agency of the Catholic Church in Scotland – which was founded in Rutherglen back in 1965.
Since then, SCIAF has transformed the lives of millions of people in some of the world’s poorest places.
Pope Francis sent his “prayerful greetings and good wishes” and prayed that the “members and supporters will become even more courageous in serving the world’s poor with the same fraternal spirit of care and closeness… as the Good Samaritan.”
SCIAF’s chief executive Lorraine Currie said: “To receive this papal blessing from his holiness means so much to me, our staff and I’m sure everyone associated with our amazing charity.
“This is a recognition of the amazing dedication of our staff, our local partners and especially our supporters, not just current but everyone who has worked in our name for the last six decades.”
SCIAF is marking its 60th anniversary in 2025 with a number of events and campaigns across the year.
Alongside calling on supporters to do a ‘60 for 60’ challenge to raise vital cash for the charity, SCIAF has recently launched a new campaign calling on world leaders to cancel unjust global debts which trap countries in cycles of poverty.
Lorraine said: “Our motto for the 60th anniversary is A Better World is Possible. Thanks to the work of SCIAF, the world is now a better place than it was 60 years ago. There’s a lot more work still to do, but we believe that we can build a world free from poverty and injustice.”
