Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development and social service organisations operating in over 200 countries and territories worldwide.

Credits: ACT/Caritas/Jefferies

How Caritas Internationalis is structured: a description of its governing bodies and their functions.

Caritas has 162 members. A member is a national charitable organisation or a collective group of them that works with the support of their respective Church. Or it can be an international charity recognised by the Vatican dedicated to human advancement and development.


Regions

Caritas Internationalis is divided into seven regions that work together, promoting cross-regional activities. They are Africa, Asia, Europa (Europe), Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa (MONA), North America, and Oceania. 


Governance

Every four years, representatives from all our member countries meet in the Vatican City to review work carried out and approve a budget. The General Assembly elects a smaller group, known as the Executive Committee, to serve four-year rotating terms to govern the confederation’s activities. The General Assembly also elects a Caritas Internationalis President, Secretary General, Treasurer, and seven regional Presidents. This group plus observers comes together as the Bureau with overall responsibility for governance. Dowload the summary report from the 18th General Assembly

Our President

The global representative of  Caritas. The current incumbent is Cardinal Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga


Our Secretary General

The Chief Executive Officer of Caritas Internationalis. The current incumbent is Lesley Anne Knight


General Secretariat

The General Secretariat covers Emergency Response, Advocacy and Communications, International Liaison and Capacity Building.


Offices

Caritas has offices at the United Nations in New York and in Geneva, as well as headquarters in Vatican City.

Key Documents: Statutes. Canonical Legal Status with the Vatican.