960,331 hours of work
are performed by volunteers who work in parishes, missions and church associations. Many activities would be impossible to carry out, were it not for these volunteers. There are many good reasons why people volunteer for voluntary activities, and thus take on assignments that add to their feeling of having a purpose in life. We really value this commitment, and we also provide advice and support to people engaged in voluntary work. If you are interested in doing voluntary work yourself, please talk to a local parish, the Zurich Catholic Charities (Caritas Zürich), the Train Station Church (Bahnhofkirche), the Airport Church (Flughafenkirche) or the HIV and Aids Ministry.
53.4 million swiss francs
The 74 Catholic parishes in the canton of Zurich invested CHF 31.6 million in their social-diaconal commitment in 2022, while the cantonal church invested a further CHF 21.8 million. That’s a total of 53.4 million. This does not include the voluntary collections that are taken up in every church service for a wide variety of projects. Our most important social organisation is Caritas Zurich. The cantonal church makes an annual contribution of CHF 2.5 million to this organisation. Other important recipients of church funds are Dargebotene Hand, Ecumenical Couples Counselling, the specialist centre for vocational training Kabel, the specialist centre for unemployment DfA, the advice centre for asylum seekers, Solidara with the Café Yucca for the needy and the advice centres for sex workers Isla Victoria in Zurich and Winterthur, Pro Filia, the specialist centre for trafficking in women and women’s migration FIZ, the specialist centre for refugees and numerous smaller initiatives and organisations. The cantonal church also regularly makes emergency aid contributions to the Jesuit Order’s international refugee relief organisation, to Caritas Switzerland‘s emergency aid projects and to other aid organisations that submit requests to the church. Many of the social and advice centres mentioned above are run jointly with the Reformed Church. In 2023, both churches established the Extramural counselling centre, which supports the relatives of prison inmates.
47 parish welfare workers
are ready to listen to people in need and to help them cope in life. They provide counseling in the case of personal and financial difficulties and whenever there are problems in the family. They support people in dealing with issues of public administration, and they also provide services to elderly people, the bereaved, migrants, marginalized people, as well as families. The services are easily accessible, free of charge and confidential. The welfare workers are supported by a specialist department.
Find out more about parish welfare work (German-language)