Caritas Internationalis

Caritas Internationalis is a global confederation of Catholic relief, development and social-service organisations. The name refers both to the worldwide Caritas network and to the confederation’s general secretariat in Vatican City. Its members work in humanitarian assistance, disaster response, poverty reduction, migration, social inclusion, community development, peacebuilding and advocacy for justice. The confederation describes its purpose as serving people living in poverty and advancing charity and justice throughout the world. The network grew out of the Catholic charitable movement that developed in response to modern industrial poverty and the principles of Catholic social teaching. Pope Leo XIII’s 1891 encyclical Rerum novarum provided an important intellectual background. Caritas Germany, established in 1897 by Lorenz Werthmann, became an early model, followed by national and diocesan organisations in Europe and elsewhere. In 1924, representatives of Catholic charitable organisations met during the International Eucharistic Congress in Amsterdam and identified the need for better coordination. A body called Caritas Catholica was subsequently established in 1928, with its secretariat in Lucerne, Switzerland. International cooperation resumed after the Second World War. With the approval of the Holy See, Catholic welfare organisations held coordinating conferences in 1947 and later developed a permanent international structure. In 1951, representatives from 13 countries created the International Conference of Catholic Charities. The Holy See approved its statutes on 21 October 1951, and the constitutive assembly met in Rome from 12 to 14 December. The organisation adopted the name Caritas Internationalis in 1957 as its membership expanded across continents. During the 1950s and 1960s, the confederation moved from a primary emphasis on emergency relief toward a combination of relief, long-term development and public advocacy. It coordinated responses to floods, earthquakes, refugee movements and famines, and established an Emergency Aid Commission in 1957. Cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Freedom from Hunger campaign helped broaden its development focus. The Second Vatican Council and Pope Paul VI’s 1967 encyclical Populorum progressio further encouraged the organisation to connect charitable action with human development, social justice and collaboration with affected communities. Caritas Internationalis became more institutionally developed in the 1970s. The confederation’s seven regional structures were created to improve coordination, and the Vatican City State granted it civil juridical personality in 1976. A shared disaster-aid manual was adopted in 1979. The network continued to combine emergency operations with work on disability inclusion, women’s participation, refugees, human rights and development policy. From the 1990s onward, Caritas agencies responded to conflicts and disasters in the Balkans, Somalia, Rwanda, the Great Lakes region, Kosovo, Darfur, Iraq, the Indian Ocean region, Haiti, Syria and West Africa. The organisation’s model is confederal rather than centrally commercial: national and regional members retain their own structures while cooperating through international coordination, representation and technical support. Caritas Internationalis works with churches, governments, United Nations bodies and other humanitarian organisations. It is therefore best understood not as a conventional consumer brand, but as an international humanitarian and social-action identity used by a large Catholic network.

Caritas Internationalis developed from the wider Catholic charitable tradition that emerged in response to poverty, labour exploitation and social dislocation in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Rerum novarum, issued by Pope Leo XIII in 1891, supplied a major reference point for Catholic social action. Caritas Germany was founded in 1897 by Lorenz Werthmann, and other national organisations followed in Switzerland, Austria, the United States, Czechoslovakia and elsewhere. Diocesan structures also appeared, creating the basis for coordinated local and international welfare work. An international Catholic charity conference held in Amsterdam in 1924 highlighted the lack of coordination among national and diocesan initiatives. Caritas Catholica was formed in 1928, initially with its headquarters in Lucerne. Its work was divided into specialist areas including youth, assistance to poor families, migration and housing, care for sick people, education in charity and action against alcoholism. The Second World War interrupted its activities, but cooperation resumed in 1947 with the approval of the Holy See. After the Second World War, Catholic organisations faced large-scale refugee, reconstruction and poverty challenges. A study meeting in Rome during the Holy Year of 1950 led to the proposal for a permanent international body. The Holy See approved the statutes of the International Conference of Catholic Charities in October 1951. Its founding assembly in December included representatives from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and the United States. Ferdinando Baldelli became the first president and Carlo Bayer the first secretary general. In 1957, the organisation became known as Caritas Internationalis. The confederation expanded rapidly through the 1950s and 1960s. It coordinated responses to floods, earthquakes and refugee crises, including the 1956 Hungarian refugee movement, and created an Emergency Aid Commission in 1957. It also began to address structural poverty. Cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Freedom from Hunger campaign and the adoption of development-oriented programmes broadened the organisation’s role beyond short-term relief. The Second Vatican Council and Populorum progressio encouraged a stronger connection between charity, human development, social justice and the participation of local communities. In the late 1960s, Caritas Internationalis became more active in international advocacy. Its 1969 declaration on the rights of developing nations reflected growing engagement with human-rights norms and international institutions. The confederation also worked with other church networks, including CIDSE and ecumenical humanitarian initiatives. During the 1970s, seven regional structures were established, allowing members to develop regional plans and coordinate more effectively. Vatican City granted civil juridical personality to the organisation in 1976, and a common disaster-aid manual followed in 1979. The 1980s brought responses to drought and famine in Africa, refugee movements in Southeast Asia, earthquakes, cyclones and conflicts in the Middle East and Africa. Caritas organisations also participated in international discussions concerning disability rights and women’s role in development. In the 1990s and 2000s, the confederation responded to the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, famine in Somalia, the Rwandan genocide and Great Lakes refugee crisis, the First Congo War, Darfur, Iraq and other emergencies. It coordinated large-scale responses to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami and the 2010 Haiti earthquake. In the twenty-first century, Caritas has continued to combine emergency assistance with recovery, livelihoods, migration support, health, education, community resilience and advocacy. Its members have worked in the Syrian crisis, the West African Ebola outbreak and numerous other disasters and conflicts. The confederation remains a decentralised network: national members implement programmes in their own contexts, while the international secretariat supports coordination, representation, communications and common policy work.

• 1979

  Common disaster-aid manual adopted

  [1]Caritas Internationalisen.wikipedia.org

  Members adopted shared guidance for implementing disaster assistance.

• 1976

  Civil juridical personality granted

  [1]Caritas Internationalisen.wikipedia.org

  Vatican City recognised Caritas Internationalis as a juridical person under civil law.

• 1969

  Declaration on the rights of developing nations

  [1]Caritas Internationalisen.wikipedia.org

  The General Assembly adopted a declaration marking a stronger international advocacy role.

• 1960

  Development work receives greater emphasis

  [1]Caritas Internationalisen.wikipedia.org

  The confederation called for locally based development assistance alongside emergency relief and created a dedicated development service.

• 1957

  Organisation adopts the name Caritas Internationalis

  [1]Caritas Internationalisen.wikipedia.org

  The name was changed to reflect the network’s presence on every continent.

• 1951

  Caritas Internationalis founded

  [1]Caritas Internationalisen.wikipedia.org

  The Holy See approved the statutes and representatives from 13 countries formed the international confederation.

• 1928

  Caritas Catholica established

  [1]Caritas Internationalisen.wikipedia.org

  An international Catholic charity network was formed with its secretariat in Lucerne.

• 1924

  International Catholic charity conference convened in Amsterdam

  [1]Caritas Internationalisen.wikipedia.org

  Delegates identified the need for stronger coordination among Catholic charitable organisations.

• 1897

  Caritas Germany founded

  [1]Caritas Internationalisen.wikipedia.org

  Lorenz Werthmann founded the organisation that became an early model for national Caritas structures.

• 1891

  Rerum novarum provides a social-action foundation

  [1]Caritas Internationalisen.wikipedia.org

  Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical on the condition of workers became an important intellectual reference for modern Catholic social action.

A faith-based, globally coordinated humanitarian network linking emergency relief with long-term development, social services and advocacy for human dignity and justice.

• Humanitarian aid

  Emergency humanitarian assistance

  Caritas members provide food, water, shelter, medical support, protection and other immediate assistance after disasters, conflicts and displacement crises. Caritas Internationalis helps coordinate member responses and international solidarity rather than functioning as a single centrally operated field agency.

• International development

  Development and poverty-reduction programmes

  The network supports longer-term initiatives addressing livelihoods, food security, health, education, community infrastructure, social protection and local resilience. Its development orientation grew significantly during the 1960s as members sought to address the causes as well as the consequences of poverty.

• Social services

  Migration and refugee services

  National Caritas organisations assist refugees, internally displaced people, migrants and asylum seekers through reception, material aid, counselling, legal or social support and integration-oriented services, depending on local capacity and law.

• Advocacy

  Advocacy and international representation

  Caritas Internationalis represents Catholic charitable organisations and advocates on poverty, human rights, development, migration, peace and social justice in international forums, including engagement with United Nations processes.

• 2003Darfur Emergency Response Operation

  Sudan

  CAFOD coordinated Caritas cooperation with Action by Churches Together during the Darfur emergency.

  Outcome. The operation provided a joint mechanism for church-based humanitarian action.

  Source
• 1983Joint Relief Programme for Africa

  Africa

  Caritas Internationalis worked with the Lutheran World Federation and the World Council of Churches on a church-based response to drought and famine in Africa.

  Outcome. The programme later supported people affected by violence and hunger during the Eritrean conflict.

  Source
• 1960Freedom from Hunger

  International

  Caritas collaborated with the Food and Agriculture Organization in a five-year campaign addressing hunger and encouraging development-oriented assistance.

  Outcome. The initiative reinforced the confederation’s shift toward combining relief with development.

  Source
• 1959Lenten anti-poverty campaigns

  Multiple countries

  A German bishops’ initiative to raise funds during Lent for hunger, poverty and disease became a model adopted by Caritas organisations in many countries.

  Outcome. Lenten fundraising and solidarity campaigns became an enduring feature of the wider Caritas network.

  Source

• 1970

  Create regional coordination structuresStrategy

  Background

  A growing worldwide membership required stronger mechanisms for cooperation among organisations sharing regional conditions.

  Action taken

  Seven regional structures and regional assemblies were developed during the 1970s.

  Aftermath

  Regional work planning and coordination became part of the confederation’s operating model.

  Source

• 1960

  Add development to emergency reliefStrategy

  Background

  The confederation recognised that humanitarian work needed to address persistent poverty and hunger, not only immediate disasters.

  Action taken

  It called for locally based development aid and established a dedicated development service.

  Aftermath

  Development, community participation and advocacy became increasingly important parts of the Caritas model.

  Source

• 1957

  Adopt an explicitly international identityStrategy

  Background

  Membership had expanded beyond the organisation’s original European base and represented Catholic charitable activity across continents.

  Action taken

  The International Conference of Catholic Charities changed its name to Caritas Internationalis.

  Aftermath

  The new name became the identity of the global confederation and its international secretariat.

  Source

1. 1Caritas Internationalisen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Official Caritas Internationalis websitecaritas.org