Caritas Europa is a European confederation of Catholic social service providers and international development and humanitarian relief organisations operating in Europe. It is one of the seven regions of Caritas Internationalis.

Caritas Europa refers to both the European network with its 49 member organisations, and its secretariat based in Brussels, Belgium.

History

Caritas Germany, established in 1897, was the first Caritas organisation. Over the following decades, numerous other Caritas organisations emerged in other countries. Caritas Internationalis, the global Confederation of all national Caritas organisations, was founded in 1950 in Rome. Its European members worked together as the informal "European region" of Caritas Internationalis and starting in 1966 met every two years. Cooperation and collaboration increased throughout the 1970s and 1980s, especially after the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC). The EEC administration insisted on working with a unique interlocutor instead of individual NGOs. For this reason, the Caritas network in Europe and other NGOs created the NGO Euronaid in 1980, particularly for the distribution of food aid by the EEC."Moved With Compassion", pp. 47-48

In the 1980s, European Caritas organisations recognized an increasing need for a pan-European Caritas structure. Rather than establishing a formal legal entity, they opted to have European member organisations collaborate through consortia with varying memberships tailored to different areas of work."Moved With Compassion", pp. 54-55 For instance, one consortium focused on providing aid in Poland, while another implemented programmes in Russia, and so forth. This collaborative model was endorsed during its general assembly, formally called "Regional Conference", of the European members of Caritas Internationalis in Luxembourg in May 1985. This new cooperation model was named Euro-Caritas and was overseen by Caritas Belgium in Brussels. Edward de Brandt was appointed as its Managing Director and served in that capacity until 1992. Euro-Caritas was mostly an initiative of the Caritas organisations based in the European Economic Community, the predecessor of the European Union.

At the same time, between 1983 and 1991, the name Caritas Europa was used as the working title for the European region of Caritas Internationalis. This structure continued its work also outside of the European Economic Community, such as with the Council of Europe."Moved With Compassion", p. 55

After the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of communism, numerous new Caritas organisations emerged in central and eastern European nations. At the regional conference of the European region of Caritas Internationalis in Vienna, in 1991, Luc Trouillard of Caritas France was elected as Secretary-General and Msgr. William Kenney from Sweden was elected as President."Moved With Compassion", p. 56

In July 1993, Caritas Europa was formally established as a non-profit association under Belgian law with its secretariat based in Brussels. Until then, the secretariat had been located in Lucerne in the premises of Caritas Switzerland. This new legal framework consolidated the former Euro-Caritas structures and the European region of Caritas Internationalis into a unified entity. In 2015, the Caritas Europa secretariat moved its office into the same building as Caritas International Belgium in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, Brussels.

Work

Caritas Europa consists of 49 national member organisations that are working in 46 European countries. The member organisations are active in combating poverty and social exclusion, providing social and welfare services, dealing with migration and asylum issues, combating human trafficking, providing humanitarian aid in Europe and across the world, regional development, peace programmes and projects around the world. Caritas Europa fosters cooperation and mutual learning among its member organisations and facilitates capacity building, joint advocacy and joint projects and programmes.

The secretariat, headquartered in Brussels, employs staff engaged in advocacy activities targeting the European Union, the Council of Europe, and their respective member states. They focus on policy issues concerning poverty, social inequality, migration, asylum, emergency humanitarian assistance, and international development globally.

Caritas Europa is affiliated with a range of other platforms, including the European development NGO network CONCORD, the European humanitarian NGO network VOICE, the social and healthcare organisation network Social Services Europe, the European Council on Refugees and Exiles and others. Caritas Europa states that it maintains a "privileged partnership" with the Council of the Bishops' Conferences of Europe (CCEE), the Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) and CIDSE, an umbrella organisation for Catholic development agencies from Europe and North America.

Membership

Over the years, the number of member organisations has continuously increased. As of 2024, Caritas Europa consists of 49 national member organisations operating in 46 European countries, covering every European Union and Council of Europe member state, as well as Belarus, Kosovo and Russia.

In certain countries, multiple Caritas member organisations exist. For example, Ukraine has Caritas Ukraine (Greek-Catholic bishops' initiative) and Caritas-Spes (Roman Catholic bishops' initiative). In the United Kingdom, there are three Caritas organisations: CAFOD for international programmes and CSAN for national social programmes, while SCIAF serves as the national Caritas organisation in Scotland. Northern Ireland is covered by Trócaire, the Irish member. Because Caritas Europa adheres to the structure of the Catholic Church, Caritas Cyprus is not affiliated with Caritas Europa, although Cyprus is an EU member state. Instead, Caritas Cyprus is part of another region within Caritas Internationalis known as Caritas Middle East and North Africa (Caritas MONA).

National Caritas organisations are the members of Caritas Europa. In most countries, each national organisation serves as an umbrella for various diocesan Caritas organisations. Diocesan and parish Caritas groups operate locally but are not direct members of Caritas Europa.

Membership activities vary widely. Some organisations focus solely on domestic social welfare (e.g., Caritas Moldova or Caritas Montenegro), while others specialize in international development and humanitarian aid (e.g., Cordaid, CAFOD). Some organisations engage in both domestic and international activities (e.g., Caritas Spain, Caritas Germany, Caritas Poland).

Certain member organisations working internationally act as "partnership organisations", supporting local partners abroad without direct implementation. Examples include Caritas Portugal and Caritas Denmark. Others, like Caritas Czech Republic and Caritas Switzerland, establish offices in third countries to directly manage humanitarian and development projects.

As Caritas Europa is one of the seven regions of Caritas Internationalis, all members of Caritas Europa are also members of Caritas Internationalis.

List of member organisations

Country Member organisation Member organisation Established Caritas Albania 1993 Caritas Andorra 1993 Armenian Caritas 1995 Caritas Austria 1903 Caritas Azerbaijan ? Caritas Belarus 1990 Caritas in Belgium , 1949 Caritas Bosnia and Herzegovina 1995 Caritas Bulgaria 1993 Caritas Croatia 1992 Caritas Czech Republic 1928 Caritas Denmark 1947 Caritas Estonia 1997 Caritas Finland 1960 Caritas France 1946 Caritas Georgia 1994 Caritas Germany 1897 Caritas Hellas 1976 Caritas Hungary / 1931 Caritas Iceland — 1989 Trócaire — 1973 Caritas Italy 1971 Caritas Kosovo 1992 Caritas Latvia 2004 Caritas Lithuania 1926 Caritas Luxembourg — 1932 Macedonian Caritas / 1993 Caritas Malta — 1965 Caritas Moldova — 1995 Caritas Monaco — 1990 Caritas Montenegro 1979 Cordaid — 2000 Caritas Norway 1952 Caritas Poland 1990 Caritas Portugal 1956 Caritas Romania 1994 Caritas Russia 1991 Caritas Serbia 1995 Caritas Slovakia 1927 Caritas Slovenia 1995 Caritas Spain 1947 Caritas Sweden 1946 Caritas Switzerland , , , 1901 Caritas Turkey 1951 Caritas Ukraine 1992 Caritas-Spes Ukraine 1991 : England and Wales CAFOD — 1960 : England and Wales Caritas Social Action Network (CSAN) — 2003 : Scotland SCIAF — 1965

Executive leadership Presidents The position of President of Caritas Europa was established in 1992, just before the network was legally created. Prior to 1992, the official title was Vice-President of Caritas Internationalis – Regio Europa.Moved With Compassion: The History of Caritas Europa 1993-2018, 2018, Responsible Publisher: Jorge Nuño Mayer,

1961–1965: Jacques de Bourbon-Busset 1965–1969: Abramo Freschi 1969–1972: Leopold Ungar 1972–1975: Juan Antonio Masip Pinilla 1975–1983: Louis Gaben 1983–1991: Fridolin Kissling 1991–1999: Msgr. William Kenney 1999–2005: Denis Viénot 2005–2007: Cristina Loghin 2007–2015: Fr. Erny Gillen 2015–2020: Msgr. Luc Van Looy 2020 – present: Fr. Michael Landau

General Secretaries 1983–1991: Walter E. Laetsch 1985–1992: Edward de Brandt (Managing Director of Euro-Caritas) 1991–1995: Luc Trouillard 1996–2002: Hermann Icking 2002–2010: Marius Wanders 2010–2019: Jorge Nuño Mayer 2019 – present: Maria Nyman

Selected photos and videos

Literature

Notes

References

External links