An almoner () is a

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

or church officer who originally was in charge of distributing money to the deserving poor. The title ''almoner'' has to some extent fallen out of use in English, but its equivalents in other languages are often used for many pastoral functions exercised by chaplains or

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

s. The word derives from the ' (alms), via the popular Latin '.

History

Christians have historically been encouraged to donate one-tenth of their income as a tithe to their church and additional offerings as needed for the poor. The first deacons, mentioned in Acts 6:1–4, dealt with the distribution of the charity of the early Christian churches to needy members.

Popes The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s and Christian monarchs and organizations have since employed their own officers to organize their donations to the poor and needy. Such donations were referred to as alms and the officers as almoners and the position was one of considerable status.

Catholic Church

The papal almoner, formally titled the "Almoner of His Holiness", is responsible for performing

works of mercy Works of mercy (sometimes known as acts of mercy) are practices considered meritorious in Christian ethics. The practice is popular in the Catholic Church as an act of both penance and charity. In addition, the Methodist church teaches that th ...

on behalf of the pope. He is one of a small number of

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

officials who continue in office when a pope dies or resigns. Until June 2022, he was a member of the papal household; since then he heads the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, an administrative unit of the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

. Cardinal Konrad Krajewski has held this post since late 2013.

French royal household

The position of almoner within the French royal household was that of Grand Almoner of France (''Grand aumônier de France'') created by King Francis I.

British royal household

Today in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, the office of Lord High Almoner still exists in the royal household and the holder of the office is responsible, amongst other things, for organizing the ceremony of the Crown's annual distribution of

Maundy money Royal Maundy () is a religious service in the Church of England held on Maundy Thursday, the day before Good Friday. At the service, the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British monarch or a royal official ceremonially distributes small silver co ...

. Associated with the almoner's office is the grand almoner, a hereditary title in the hands of the

Marquess of Exeter Marquess of Exeter is a title that has been created twice, once in the peerage of England and once in the peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the peerage of England in 1525 for Henry Courtenay, 2nd Earl of Devon. For mor ...

Livery companies and Masonic lodges

The almoner also remains an active and important office in the

livery companies A livery company is a type of guild or professional association that originated in medieval times in London, England. Livery companies comprise London's ancient and modern trade associations and guilds, almost all of which are Style (form of a ...

of the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

. In

Masonic lodge A Masonic lodge (also called Freemasons' lodge, or private lodge or constituent lodge) is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also a commonly used term for a building where Freemasons meet and hold their meetings. Every new l ...

s, the almoner's duty is to oversee the needs of the brethren within his lodge. He is the contact for charity and looks after the welfare of the members, including visits to the sick, aged and infirm.

Hospital almoners

The title almoner was also used for a hospital official who interviews prospective patients to qualify them as

indigent Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse

. It was later applied to the officials who were responsible for patient welfare and after-care. This position evolved into the modern profession of medical social work. Lady almoners existed in the UK from 1895 to the termination of the private medical system in 1948; their task was to determine the patients' ability to contribute towards their own medical care.

References

{{Authority control Christian religious occupations Ecclesiastical titles Catholic ecclesiastical titles Alms in Christianity