This article needs to be updated.(November 2022) |
Formation | 9 November 1951 |
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Founded at | Vatican City |
Purpose | Humanitarian aid, international development, social service, advocacy |
Headquarters | Palazzo San Callisto |
Location | |
Coordinates | 41°53′20″N12°28′14″E / 41.88889°N 12.47056°E |
Origins | Catholic Social Teaching |
Region served | Worldwide |
Membership (2023) | 162 national member organisations [1] [2] |
Official language | English, French, Spanish |
Secretary General | Alistair Dutton |
Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi | |
Vice-President | Kirsty Robertson |
Affiliations | ICVA, [3] SCHR, Sphere |
Website | www |
Caritas Internationalis (Latin for "Charity International") is a confederation of 162 [1] [2] national Catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide. [4] The name Caritas Internationalis refers to both the global network of Caritas organizations and to its general secretariat based in the Vatican City in Rome, Italy.
Collectively and individually, their missions are "to serve the poor and to promote charity and justice throughout the world". [5] Caritas Internationalis is the second-largest international humanitarian aid network in the world after the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. [6] [7] [8] [9]
The first Caritas organization was Caritas Germany, established by Lorenz Werthmann in 1897 in Freiburg. [10] Other national Caritas organizations were soon formed in Switzerland (1901) and the United States (Catholic Charities, 1910). [11]
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In July 1924, during the international Eucharistic Congress in Amsterdam, 60 delegates from 22 countries formed a conference, with headquarters at Caritas Switzerland in Luzern. In 1928, the conference became known as Caritas Catholica. The delegates met every two years until the outbreak of the Second World War when all activities came to a standstill. Work resumed in 1947, with the approval of the Secretariat of State, and two conferences were convened in Luzern to help coordinate efforts and collaboration.
Caritas was given a further endorsement when the Secretariat of State entrusted it with the official representation of all welfare organizations at the international level, especially at the United Nations. The Holy Year in 1950 saw the beginning of a union of Caritas organizations. Following a suggestion by Monsignor Montini, then Substitute Secretary of State, and later Pope Paul VI, a study week, with participants from 22 countries, was held in Rome to examine the problems of Christian Caritas work. As a result, the decision was made to set up an international conference of Roman Catholic charities. [12]
In December 1951, upon approval of the statutes by the Holy See, the first constitutive General Assembly of Caritas Internationalis took place. Founding members came from Caritas organizations in 13 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. The Church describes Caritas as its official voice "in relation to its teachings in the area of charity work". [13]
In 1954, the Confederation changed its name to Caritas Internationalis to reflect the international presence of Caritas members on every continent. [13] As of 2015, the Confederation has 164 members working in over 200 countries and territories. Its General Secretariat is located in the Palazzo San Callisto, Vatican City. The current president is Archbishop Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi and the secretary general is Alistair Dutton.
After World War Two, Caritas was implicated in assisting Franz Stangl, a supervisor at the Hartheim Euthanasia Centre which was the early Nazi euthanasia programme responsible for the deaths of over 70,000 mentally ill or physically deformed people in Germany, in his escape to Syria. After Stangl made his way to Rome from Linz, the Caritas relief agency provided him with a Red Cross passport and a boat ticket to Syria. [14]
The full membership list of Caritas organizations includes: [15]
Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, S.D.B. is a Honduran prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Tegucigalpa from 1993 to 2023. He was president of Caritas Internationalis and served as president of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) from 1995 to 1999.
Caritas Catholica Belgica is a Belgian confederation of Catholic relief, development and social service organizations operating in Flanders and Wallonia. The organization groups about 1,100 institutions active in healthcare in Belgium.
Caritas Europa is a European confederation of Catholic social service providers and international development and humanitarian relief organisations operating in Europe. It is one of the seven regions of Caritas Internationalis.
Ferdinando Baldelli was an Italian Catholic bishop. He was President of the Pontificia Commissione di Assistenza (1944–1959) and President of Caritas (charity) Internationalis (1951–1962).
Caritas Spain is the Catholic Church's official organization in Spain for charity and social relief, instituted by the Spanish Episcopal Conference.
Robert Joseph Vitillo is the Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC). Prior to that, Vitillo has served in various high level functions in Catholic charitable agencies, including Caritas Internationalis and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. A trained social worker, he is known for his broad expertise on human migration and refugee services, child protection, social services, human rights, HIV/AIDS and global health.
Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, SVD (菊地 功, born 1 November 1958) is a Japanese Catholic prelate and a member of the Divine Word Missionaries who has been Archbishop of Tokyo since 2017 and president of Caritas International since May 2023. He was the Bishop of Niigata from 2004 to 2017. He previously worked as a missionary in Ghana.
Caritas Bangladesh is a Catholic charitable organization in Bangladesh. It is a member of Caritas Internationalis and governed by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Bangladesh.
Caritas Philippines is a non-profit organisation active in the Philippines, founded in 1966. It is the social arm of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines and a member of the global Caritas Internationalis confederation and of its regional structure Caritas Asia.
August Vanistendael was a Belgian trade union leader and Catholic social activist.
Caritas Oceania is an Oceanian confederation of Catholic social, humanitarian, and relief organisations. It is one of the seven regional confederations of Caritas Internationalis members. Caritas Oceania consists of seven member organisations from across the Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand.
Caritas Czech Republic is a Czech Catholic not-for-profit social welfare and humanitarian relief organisation. It is a service of the Czech Bishops' Conference and is the largest social welfare and charitable organisation in the country. Caritas Czech Republic is a member of both Caritas Europa and Caritas Internationalis.
Caritas Africa is a confederation of Catholic social service, international development and humanitarian relief organisations operating across Africa. It is one of the seven regions of Caritas Internationalis.
Caritas Congo is a nonprofit organisation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the official aid organisation of the Congolese Catholic Church with a presence all over the country.
Caritas Asia is a pan-Asian nonprofit organisation and one of the seven regions of the global Caritas Internationalis confederation. Caritas Asia refers both to its regional secretariat, based in Bangkok and its network with 25 member organisation.
Caritas Burkina Faso, locally known as Organisation catholique pour le céveloppement et la solidarité and Ocades Caritas Burkina, is a nonprofit organisation in the Burkina Faso. It is the official aid organisation of the Burkinabè Catholic Church with a presence all over the country.
Caritas Japan is a Catholic non-profit organisation of the Episcopal Conference of Japan. It was founded in 1946 and is a member of the global Caritas Internationalis confederation and of its regional structure Caritas Asia.
Caritas Middle East and North Africa, also known as Caritas MONA, is a Catholic charity network active in the Middle East and North Africa and in the Horn of Africa. It is one of the seven regions of the worldwide Caritas Internationalis confederation.
Caritas Colombia is a Colombian nonprofit organisation. It is the official aid organisation of the Catholic Church in Colombia.
Caritas Latin America and Caribbean is a network of Catholic nonprofit organisation active in Latin America and the Caribbean and one of the seven regions of the global Caritas Internationalis confederation.