Black Santa prepares for 50th Christmas Sit-out
This December, Belfast’s Black Santa will be on the steps of St Anne’s Cathedral for a remarkable 50th Christmas sit-out in aid of those in need.
Over the last half a century, five successive Deans have donned the Black Santa mantle, raising millions for charities not only at home, but supporting partners worldwide through Christian Aid and responding to devastating crises - the Boxing Day tsunami in 2004 and more recently, Ukrainian refugees in 2021.
For the current Dean, the Very Revd Stephen Forde, this will be a ninth Black Santa sit-out. Recognising the significance of the past 50 years, he has chosen to highlight another charity celebrating an anniversary, the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice, which this year marks 25 years of providing specialist care to families.
Dean Forde has set himself a special challenge for 2026 - to raise an extra third on top of the usual Black Santa tally to donate entirely to the Children’s Hospice, with the remaining two thirds shared among local charities in the usual way.
Dean Forde said: “This December will mark 50 years since Dean Sammy Crooks stood on the steps of St Anne’s Cathedral to launch the first Dean’s Christmas Sit-out Appeal. 1976 had been a dark year in the Northern Ireland Troubles. One of the many bombs to explode that year had been placed at the Belfast Telegraph offices, with fatal consequences. On that day, it was to St Anne’s Cathedral all the Telegraph staff came to gather as a place of safety.
“Into that context Dean Crooks chose to bring the light of our Christmas faith that dark December. And the Press, to whom he had given sanctuary months earlier, soon dubbed him ‘Black Santa,’ due in part to the black clerical cloak he wore to keep warm. The name has stuck, as each of the succeeding Deans of Belfast has taken for themselves the mantle and persona of Belfast’s Black Santa.”
Over five decades, the names of Dean Crooks, Jack Shearer, Houston McKelvey, John Mann and now Dean Forde have become synonymous with this 10-day vigil through cold and wind, rain, sleet and sometimes snow.
Each has been assisted by cathedral Canons, Bishops and others who have stood alongside. In the background, cathedral parishioners have counted donations.
“What has always made the Black Santa sit-out so special is the generosity and the response of people from across the city of Belfast and far beyond,” Dean Forde said.
“People who first came as children in the 1970s now bring their grandchildren to fill the famous Black Santa barrel with coins and notes. Across those 50 years, millions of pounds have been raised in the days before Christmas, all given away again at the annual Good Samaritans’ Service at the start of each new year.”
25 years of the Children's Hospice
The Dean said the focus on the Children’s Hospice is a way of marking and celebrating this milestone anniversary.
“The Children’s Hospice is a very special place where children with life-limiting conditions can receive on-site respite care while their parents or siblings enjoy some rest,” Dean Forde said.
“The Children’s Hospice also offers home care to families across Northern Ireland. All provided entirely free of charge. It costs £5.3 million to run all the on-site and at home Children’s Hospice services, and the Government only provides one third of the total cost. The remaining two thirds (£3.2 million) must be raised from the community.
“That is why the Black Santa 50 Appeal is partnering with the Children’s Hospice in its 25th anniversary year. The extra fundraising will contribute towards the vital funds needed to support the Children’s Hospice, where the Inpatient Unit is currently able to operate just six of the 10 beds available.”
The Dean said raising one third extra for Black Santa 50 in 2026 would be a big challenge. “But through our continued partnership with professional services firm PwC, and with support from businesses, parishes and the ever-generous people of our community, such a challenge is not beyond reach,” he said.
“Fifty years of the Black Santa Sit-out. Twenty-five years of the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice. What an opportunity is given for us to share the full meaning of Christmas with not only 100 small local charities but also with the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice.”
Conal Duffy, NI Hospice’s Chief Income Officer, said the charity is delighted with this partnership with Belfast Cathedral in what is a very special anniversary year for both organisations.
“Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice is proud to have been chosen as the key charity partner for Black Santa 50. It is especially meaningful to us to have the Dean’s support in what is a landmark year for both of us, as together we celebrate 50 years of the sit out, and 25 years of care at Children’s Hospice,” Mr Duffy said.
“The Dean’s aim to raise £100k for Children’s Hospice will be a key part of our ‘Christmas Starts with Care’ fundraising appeal, for which we have a total target of £500k.”
“We rely on public support to fund our essential services, and the current financial pressures mean that Children’s Hospice can currently operate only six of its 10 beds, so the promise of additional vital funds is especially welcome, and we give a huge and heartfelt thanks to the Dean for his fantastic support.”
Black Santa’s 50th anniversary sit-out will get underway at Belfast Cathedral on Monday December 14 and continue until Christmas Eve.
You can donate online here at blacksanta.org
Pictured above: Belfast Cathedral’s Black Santa, Dean Stephen Forde, with some of the children and staff at Horizon House, the Children’s Hospice, Newtownabbey.