News

On March 5, the city of Oradea celebrated the commitment and generosity of its civic community at the annual Volunteers’ Gala organized by the Social Assistance Directorate (DASO). We are proud to share that Mr. Michael Wöhrer, nominated by Caritas Catolica, was among those recognized for outstanding volunteer service. For more than a decade, Mr. Wöhrer, an Austrian civil engineer and retired professor, has dedicated his time and energy to organizing volunteer work camps that brought students from Austria to Oradea, where they contributed to the restoration of the former St. Joseph Hospital building, which today is the headquarters of Caritas.

Last week, between 25–27 November, two Dutch professional trainers, Liesbeth den Besten and Inge van den Broek, held a training session for the employees of Caritas Catolica in Oradea on dementia care and the prevention of workplace burnout. The three-day program, supported by the Priscilla Foundation in the Netherlands, brought together twenty-five Caritas employees working in nursing homes and home-care services, including medical assistants, caregivers, and social workers.

Today we delivered used but excellent-condition Austrian school bags, supplies, and sweets to the pupils of grades I–IV at the Lucreția Suciu Primary School in Oradea.

On Wednesday, we had the pleasure of welcoming the Várad Deanery to the St. Joseph Center, which serves as the headquarters of Caritas Catolica.

With deep sorrow in our hearts, we accompanied on his final journey our former esteemed colleague, Imre Kertész, master carpenter, who last week, at the age of 74, returned his soul to the Creator. Since the '60s he had been in the service of the Church, and from the very foundation of Caritas he was one of its dedicated collaborators. His distinctive character, cheerful spirit, and professional humility became inseparably tied to our organization. The windows and many of the finely crafted wooden doors of the Canon's Row building remain as living testimony to his craftsmanship.

We are delighted that, thanks to our international partners, we were able to equip the team of the Bihar County Volunteer Fire and Disaster Management Association in the North-West region with standard fire protection uniforms.

For the competitive procedure having as object the works contract for the project "Development of the St. Anton Elderly Home in Marghita"

On Monday, June 23, we gathered again at the Oradea Alzheimer Café, where our guest was Dr. Edina Palotás Dascal, a specialist psychiatrist. The main topic this time was the issue of aggression in people living with dementia – a difficult, yet extremely important subject that is often not discussed enough.

19 students from the HTL Mödling construction technical high school in Lower Austria took part in another volunteer camp in Oradea, held between June 23–25, 2025. During the project, they worked on renovating the upper floor of the Saint Joseph Center, which serves as the headquarters of Caritas Catolica. The team was once again led by teacher Michael Wöhrer, who is now retired but still plays a key role in the school’s international partnerships.

During today's Holy Mass at the Caritas Catolica chapel, we commemorated our dear Dutch friend and supporter, Jas van Stiphout, who returned to his Creator on May 21.