Almoner

An almoner (/ˈɑːmənər, ˈæl-/)[1] is a chaplain or church officer who originally was in charge of distributing money to the deserving poor.

The word derives from the Ancient Greek: ἐλεημοσύνη eleēmosynē (alms), via the popular Latin almosinarius.

[2] Christians have historically been encouraged to donate one-tenth of their income as a tithe to their church and additional offerings as needed for the poor.

The first deacons, mentioned in Acts 6:1–4, dealt with the distribution of the charity of the early Christian churches to needy members.

[3] Until June 2022, he was a member of the papal household; since then he heads the Dicastery for the Service of Charity, an administrative unit of the Roman Curia.