Caritas Internationalis

Profile narrative

Caritas Internationalis, often referred to as Caritas, is a Catholic humanitarian confederation headquartered in the Holy See. It brings together Catholic relief, development, and social service organizations that work through local and national church-linked institutions. Its core activity is humanitarian assistance rather than commercial products, with work centered on emergency relief, poverty reduction, development support, and services for vulnerable populations. The network serves communities affected by conflict, disasters, displacement, poverty, and social exclusion, with member organizations operating in their own countries and coordinating internationally through Caritas Internationalis.

Caritas Internationalis functions as an umbrella and coordinating body for its member organizations. In that role, it represents the Caritas network in international forums, supports coordination among members, and helps connect local humanitarian work with global advocacy and response efforts. Its distinguishing attribute is its position as a faith-based humanitarian network rooted in Catholic social service institutions while operating across humanitarian contexts. The organization’s competencies are tied to community-based aid delivery, emergency response, long-term development work, and advocacy for people affected by crises. Its structure is confederal rather than that of a single centralized operating company: national Caritas organizations and related Catholic charitable bodies are members of the international confederation, while the Holy See location reflects its international Catholic institutional identity.

A known cyber incident involving the organization occurred on 1 March 2022, when a Catholic humanitarian organization’s online press conference focused on Ukraine was interrupted during a Zoom event. Hackers used prolonged audio disruptions, including obscenities and children’s voices, and flooded the chat with offensive messages. The disruption prevented the organization’s representative from delivering remarks and compromised the integrity of the virtual gathering. The incident occurred during heightened hacktivist activity linked to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but no explicit attribution or motive was confirmed.

Incidents

1 incident linked to this organisation.