Black Santa 50th Anniversary Christmas Gala Concert 5th December 2026 7.30pm
Black Santa at St Anne’s Cathedral,
Celebrating 50 Years of Giving.
1976-2026.
The image of Belfast’s Black Santa, collecting on the steps of St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast in the weeks before Christmas, is one that is familiar to the people of Belfast and far beyond.
In December 1976, during the darkest days of The Troubles, Dean Sammy Crooks held the first “Dean’s Sitout for Charity”. His ambition was for the Church to look outward and away from itself, to raise significant funds for those in our communities who faced the greatest need, especially at Christmas time. Over the past five decades, and with five different Deans of Belfast, this ambition remains as relevant today, as it did in 1976.
That is why, in this fiftieth anniversary year, we have set ourselves the ambitious target of raising a total of £300,000 for the 2026 Fiftieth Anniversary Appeal.
And this year the additional third raised is all to be directed to the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice, as they celebrate the 25th anniversary of their opening. The Children’s Hospice only receive one third of their funding from government sources. Everything else for the running of their life supporting ministries to life limited children and their families has to be generated from community fundraising.
You can help us raise that extra 1/3rd to support the Northern Ireland Children's Hospice by attending our amazing Christmas Gala Concert at St Anne's Cathedral, starting at 7.30pm on Saturday 5th December, 2026. This spectacular Christmas Concert is given by the Belfast Cathedral Choir, with the Priory Singers and the Studio Symphony Orchestra, directed by Mr Jack Wilson, Master of Music at Belfast Cathedral.
Tickets £25 each can be purchased at
