Our story

Our adult and children's community, the Győztes Bárány Közösség (Victorious Lamb Community), was founded in Ózd in 2016. Our gatherings take place at the local Catholic parish in Ózd.

Although our community is based on Catholic values, we are open to anyone seeking Jesus Christ. We do not wish to exclude anyone who desires to join us.

Since our foundation, both our volunteers and community members have been actively engaged in serving families and children living in deeply disadvantaged circumstances.

We support these families not only spiritually but also by helping them overcome challenges in their everyday lives — through food donations, firewood, clothing, utility bill assistance. Beyond physical help, our mission is to uplift and restore the whole person through the Good News of the Gospel and a relationship with Christ.

Our gatherings include worship, teaching from the Word of God, sharing and conversation. We aim to strengthen both individual and collective Christian identity. In addition, we believe it is important to deepen our understanding of Roma identity and culture, helping community members take pride in their heritage. To this end, we organize cultural Roma days, regional meetings, and special Roma Masses, where we also invite others to join our group. At various Roma cultural events organized by other communities, we have had the opportunity to present traditional Roma songs and dances.

We also try to reach out to people through street evangelization, which we organize about four times a year. Several times we have combined these with food distribution to reach the poorest.

Our Christian and cultural programs focus on building bridges between Roma and non-Roma communities, breaking down decades-old barriers rooted in prejudice. We strive to notice the needs around us — even when people are too ashamed to speak up. Among our Roma Christian brothers and sisters, we have often seen how vital it is for them to maintain dignity and honor. This often means they only ask for help at the very last moment, when there is nothing left to give their children.

We've learned that giving should not be done publicly, not only because Jesus teaches us that "do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing" (Matthew 6:3), but also to protect families from shame and preserve their dignity. We have supported children with clothes, shoes, and gifts during holidays; families with firewood, food packages, and by connecting them with local social workers and the parish's Caritas team.

Our community has had the opportunity to participate in several pilgrimages. Stepping out of their everyday environment, our members have gained new insights and values. Meeting other believers — both Roma and non-Roma — strengthens the awareness of belonging to one Church. The openness and love shown by other Christian communities truly help shape our members' Christian and Catholic identity.

Pilgrimages bring the beauty of Church traditions and liturgy closer in a tangible way — not just as concepts, but as personal experiences.

While sharing the values of the Church and the knowledge of God, we also place great emphasis on not neglecting physical needs. Therefore, we continue to support families with food packages.

Twice a year, we visit local primary schools in Ózd to deliver Christian evangelization combined with drug prevention programs. We believe it is important to reach children and youth through different channels.

Our children's group consists of boys and girls aged 8 to 16. We meet weekly throughout the school year to support them emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. We aim to help them overcome disadvantages in school and life, and we also try to connect them with adult role models and mentors from our community.

Our first day camp was held in 2017. Unfortunately, financial limitations prevented us from organizing a camp in 2018, but thanks to generous donors (and God), in 2019 we were able to take the children to the Balaton. In 2020, we organized a children's camp in Pilisszentiván.

We have both short-term and long-term goals. We are regularly invited to Roma pilgrimages and heritage festivals, where we not only introduce our community but also learn from others, build relationships and friendships. The children in our community often perform during these events — dancing to worship and traditional Roma music. These performances not only bring joy but also strengthen our community, as rehearsals create deeper bonds among members.

Many of the children we work with — even at 14-16 years old — have never experienced success in their lives. Our goal is to give them positive experiences and affirm their identity, helping them grow into healthy Christian men and women. We want to help them heal from the wounds of being told they are worthless, that they are good at nothing, and that they have nothing to be proud of as Roma. We want to reflect to them what God thinks of them: that they are valuable, unique, full of talent, and deeply loved.

This is our mission — to share this message with more and more people, both children and adults:
God loves you, unconditionally.
This is the Good News, the grace that truly leads to a full life, just as Jesus said:
"I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." (John 10:10)