It all started with just one man. From humble beginnings in Germany 1897, Lorenz Werthmann founded the first Caritas. The organisation, named after a Latin word meaning love and compassion, grew to become one of the largest aid and development agencies in the world. In the 20th Century, Giovanni Battista Montini, the future Pope Paul VI, laid the foundations for an international network. In 1954, Caritas Internationalis was officially recognised.