Maria Skobtsova House & Community
Our house and community are named after Maria Skobtsova, a Russian Orthodox Saint and Martyr who took care of Russian refugees, migrants, the homeless and Jewish people in Paris during the last century. Maria Skobtsova is our inspiration, as too is Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker Movement, who, with Peter Maurin, opened houses of hospitality for the poor and homeless in 1930’s America. It is in this spirit that we work in Calais, offering refugees a place of sanctuary, support and love.
Our guests are amongst the most vulnerable from within the Calais refugee community, a particular welcome being offered currently to women and women with children.
The House is run by a Board of Management / Conseil d’Administration, and Maria Skobtsova House is a declared association under French law (Association loi 1901)
OUTREACH
We work in close partnership with other volunteer associations in Calais, in particular with Secours Catholique / Caritas France.
Over the years, a close relationship has grown between Maria Skobtsova House and the Eritrean refugee community in Calais. As part of a commitment to reach beyond the four walls of the house, we maintain our links with this community, visiting them, and enabling them, with the invaluable support of the Catholic Church in Calais, to celebrate Orthodox Christmas and Easter.