Caritas Westminster welcomed its new Director, Richard Harries on Monday 4 September.

Richard is a former senior civil servant who spent many years working on criminal justice, voluntary sector and local government policy issues. In 2013 he took up a new role working for a Westminster-based think tank before going on to become Director of Research for a National Lottery grantmaker. Most recently he was Director of the Institute for Community Studies, where amongst other things, he had been working on the impact of faith-based social action. He is also on the board of the Caritas Social Action Network.

Richard fills the place of John Coleby who had been director for almost all of Caritas Westminster’s 11 years, until June this year. Richard has been tasked with expanding the reach of Caritas within the diocese of Westminster, and growing the impact of its services and the projects which it supports, as well as raising awareness of the underlying issues and socio-economic challenges facing those who live and work in the diocese.

Richard says: “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to build on the foundations laid by John Coleby. Caritas Westminster in its first decade has achieved so much, not least in its marvellous response to the Covid-19 pandemic. I look forward to working closely with Catholic communities and third sector organisations in north London and Hertfordshire seeking to respond to the spiritual and material needs of the diocese.”

Caritas Westminster is the official social outreach charity of the Roman Catholic diocese of Westminster, which covers most of London North of the Thames, and Hertfordshire. Visit their website here: www.caritaswestminster.org.uk

Press enquiries to Louise Cook, Communications Officer louisecook@rcdow.org.uk