A description of Caritas Internationalis’ governing bodies and their functions.
Caritas Internationalis is a public canonical juridical person dedicated to the service of the poor and to the promotion of charity, justice and the integral human development (art. 1, CI Statutes).
The specific task entrusted to Caritas Internationalis is to assist the Roman Pontiff and the other bishops in their ministry of charity. Caritas Internationalis carries out this task by attending to the poorest and most needy, assisting in humanitarian emergencies, and helping to spread charity and justice in the world in the light of the Gospel and of the teaching of the Catholic Church (art. 1.3, CI Statutes)
CI is a Confederarion of Catholic charitable organisations which, in general are national Caritas or a collective group of them that works with the support of their Church.
Regions
Caritas Internationalis is made up of seven regions. Members of regions work together on common issues, strengthening each other and contributing to global action. They are Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East and North Africa (MONA), North America, and Oceania.
Governance
Every four years, representatives from our member organisations worldwide meet in Vatican City to review work carried out and approve a strategic framework and a budget. The most recent gathering of the General Assembly was in May 2023. The General Assembly elects the Representative Council to serve four-year to govern the confederation’s activities.
The General Assembly elects the Caritas Internationalis President and Secretary General. The Vice president and the treasurer are elected by the Representative Council. The president and vice president are ex officio members of the Executive Board which is composed of seven members, two of which are appointed by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD) and one is elected by the Representative Council. The Treasurer and the chair of the Legal Affairs Commission are also members of the Executive Board.
In May 2023, Mr Alistair Dutton was elected as Secretary General; Archbishop Tarcisius Isao Kikuchi, Archbishop of Tokyo, as President; Mrs Kirsty Robertson (CEO of Caritas Australia) as Vice President; and Mr Patrick Dubecquois (Deputy Director of Caritas Belgium) as Treasurer.
General Secretariat and offices
The General Secretariat of the Caritas Confederation, based in the Vatican City, is the organizational structure under the direction of the Secretary
General. The personnel of the General Secretariat carry out their duties assigned by the Secretary General in accordance with the strategic framework, the instructions from the Executive Board and in compliance with the Personnel Rules of Caritas Internationalis (art. 15.1, CI Statutes).
This Secretariat coordinates emergency response, policy and advocacy, communications, international representation and capacity building. It also has international delegations at the United Nations, in New York and Geneva.
EXBO Members
President: H.E. Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, S.V.D, Archbishop of Tokyo
Vice-President: Ms. Kirsty Robertson, Caritas Australia
Treasurer: Mr. Patrick Debucquois, Caritas Belgium
Mr. Kidane Bekele Moges, Caritas Ethiopia
Mr. Karam Abi Yazbeck, Regional Coordinator MONA Region
Ms. Cristina Calvo, Argentina
Legal Affairs Committee Chair to be decided
REPCO Members
President: H.E. Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi, S.V.D, Archbishop of Tokyo
Vice-President: Ms. Kirsty Robertson, Caritas Australia
Treasurer: Mr. Patrick Debucquois, Caritas Belgium
Sr. Regina Ignatia Aflah, Caritas Ghana
Dr. Benedict Alo D’Rozario, President Caritas ASIA
Msgr. Giorgio Bertin, President Caritas MONA
Fr. Pierre Cibambo, President Caritas AFRICA
Mr. Santos Gotine, Caritas Mozambique
Mr. Carl Hétu, Caritas Canada (Development and Peace)
Msgr. Michael Landau, President Caritas EUROPA
Ms. Agustina Langwagen, Caritas Uruguay
Mr. Jeremy Laurie, Youth Representative, Caritas Canada (Development and Peace)
H.E. Card. Soane Patita Mafi, President Caritas OCEANIA
Ms. Janeth Márquez, Caritas Venezuela
Mr. Oliver Müller, Caritas Germany
Ms. Chimwemwe Ndhlovu, Caritas Malawi
Fr. Marco Pagniello, Caritas Italiana
Mr. Kim Rattana, Caritas Cambodia
Msgr. Gustavo Rodríguez, President Caritas LATIN AMERICA & the CARIBBEAN
Ms. Clara Sánchez, Youth Representative, Caritas Spain
Dr. Shannon Senefeld, Catholic Relief Services
Fr. Takashi Seto, Caritas Japan
Mr. Wael Souleiman, Caritas Jordan
Ms. Tetiana Stawnychy, Caritas Ukraine
Legal Affairs Committee Chair to be decided
Member Organisations
National charitable organizations whose statutes have been approved by the local Episcopal Conferences or by its equivalent in law or, in the case of a country consisting of a single diocese, by the diocesan bishop or by its equivalent in law, can apply for membership of Caritas Internationalis, following acceptance by the General Assembly and ratification by the DPIHD. (art. 4.2, CI Statutes).
Members have to comply with the norms of conduct and the criteria defined in the Statutes and the Internal Rules of Caritas Internationalis, as well as with internationally shared principles and Management Standards, established by Caritas Internationalis (art. 6.1c, CI Statutes).
Statutes
Download Caritas Internationalis Statutes here.