Caritas Internationalis (Latin for 'Charity International') is a confederation of 162 national Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.

[14] Rerum Novarum is considered a foundational text of modern Catholic social teaching and provides the ideological background for the work of Caritas.

[19][20] In 1916, in the context of World War 1, Caritas was recognised as the single official umbrella organisation for the German Catholic church's relief operations.

[23][24] The secretariat was organised into six specialised sections: youth, knowledge and teaching of charity, aid to the poor and to families, immigration and housing, assistance to the sick, and the fight against alcoholism.

Caritas was given a further endorsement when the Secretariat of State entrusted it with the official representation of all Catholic welfare organisations at the international level, especially at the United Nations.

[28] 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.

[29] On 21 October 1951, the Holy See approved the statutes of this international organisations ad experimentum and from 12 to 14 December 1951, the constitutive assembly of Caritas Internationalis took place.

Founding members came from Caritas organisations in 13 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

[22][30][31] The first elected officials of the organisation were the Italian Bishop Ferdinando Baldelli, who served as President of Caritas Internationalis until 1962, and the German Carlo Bayer, who remained the Secretary General until 1970.

[40] Caritas Internationalis coordinated the relief efforts of its members in response to emergencies in Europe, such as the 1953 floods in the Netherlands and Belgium, the 1953 Ionian earthquake, and the displacement of 200,000 Hungarian refugees after the 1956 uprising.

In 1959, at the initiative of Cardinal Joseph Frings, the German bishops decided to launch a joint Lenten campaign to alleviate, hunger, poverty and disease in what was back then called the "Third World".

The idea of Lenten campaigns and using the raised funds to implement charitable projects was adopted in many countries and remains a major fundraising tool for many Caritas organisations worldwide.

It emphasized the value of the work done by laypeople, called for dialogue with other religions, and urged Christians to promote the development of poorer regions and social justice among nations.

In 1967, Pope Paul VI published Populorum progressio, an encyclical on the topic of "the development of peoples" which would become a foundational text for the work of Caritas Internationalis and its members.

It prompted Catholic charities such as Caritas to contemplate their role within the Church and the contemporary world, reinforcing the notion that social action should be grounded in serving those most in need and that initiatives should be developed collaboratively with the communities.

[45] That same year, CIDSE was established to coordinate the tasks identified by the Second Vatican Council as priorities for the Church, such as caring for the poor and oppressed and focusing on global justice.

[50] This marked the beginning of Caritas Internationalis adopting a more outward-facing advocacy approach, involving closer cooperation and engagement on the global stage through its UN delegations.

On 19 July 1976, at the initiative of Pope Paul VI, Caritas Internationalis was granted civil juridical personality by the Vatican City State.

[71] After the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Caritas Internationalis and its member organisations provided humanitarian relief and rehabilitation support to over 1.5 million Haitians, using a budget of US$176,000,000.

In 1999, Caritas Internationalis signed a memorandum of understanding with the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, agreeing to collaborating in raising awareness about the virus and caring for those affected.

[80] On 16 September 2004, Pope John Paul II granted public, juridical, and canonical personality to Caritas Internationalis, recognizing its formal status within the Church and its ability to operate with a greater degree of autonomy and authority.

[28] Caritas Internationalis launched its "HAART for Children" advocacy campaign in 2009, calling on governments and pharmaceutical companies to develop and provide child-friendly HIV and tuberculosis medicine.

[77][81] In November 2012, Pope Benedict XVI published the motu proprio Intima Ecclesiae natura, which focuses on the principles and guidelines for the charitable activities of the Catholic Church, which explicitly asks of the bishops to "encourage in every parish of his territory the creation of a local Caritas service or a similar body".

[88][89][90] These elections resulted in Alistair Dutton, previously the executive director of SCIAF (Caritas Scotland), winning the position of Secretary-General, and Archbishop of Tokyo Msgr.

For instance, American Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is one of the largest international humanitarian NGOs globally, reporting a revenue of $923 million USD in 2020.