Caritas means love and compassion in Latin and these two powerful words have guided us for the past 60 years, as we worked hand-in-hand with our partners worldwide to make a difference in the lives of those who need it most.
Caritas Australia started in the early 1960s among lay Catholics who wanted to tackle hunger and global poverty. The Catholic Overseas Relief Committee was created in 1964, which later became Caritas Australia. That same year, Catholic parishes in Adelaide conducted the first Lenten appeal that raised money for a fishing boat to support the needs of the communities in the Tiwi Islands.
Today, Caritas Australia works in 36 countries across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, as well as First Australian communities. We are also part of one of the largest humanitarian networks in the world, Caritas Internationalis, a confederation of 162 member organisations in 200 countries all over the world, with over one million staff and volunteers.
Join us as we celebrate 60 years of walking alongside the world's most vulnerable communities to end poverty, promote justice and uphold dignity.
Coming soon: Caritas Australia 60th Anniversary Book
The ‘60 Faces: Portraits of Compassion in Action’ book tells the story of Caritas Australia’s impact across the world through 60 hand-picked photographs of participants from our international and Australian programs. The 60 faces you will see in this book represent all we achieved together in the last 60 years, supporting vulnerable communities to confront the challenges of poverty and build a thriving future.
This book will be available for purchase in April.
Caritas Australia 60th Anniversary Virtual Gallery competition
To celebrate the 60th anniversary, we have compiled a selection of our favourite 60 photos. Vote for your favourite photo to go into the draw to win a special artwork from Djilpin Arts, our First Australian partner in the Northern Territory.
Grand prize: Painting by Harry Malibirr
This painting depicts five of Harry Malibirr's dreaming stories. "These are all songlines. All are Yirritja story"
The painting has been completed using a handmade jarlk grass reed brush harvested from local billabongs and wet areas. Raark or fine line work is in Yirritja style and consists of multiple lines before alternating colours. Paint used is modern acrylic.
Harry was born at Elcho Island and is an artistic cultural man through mediums of painting, carving and ceremonial dancing of Bungul. Harry learned art through watching and absorbing knowledge from his father and uncle. Both were painters who encouraged Harry to paint small bits of their art, helping gather knowledge, skills and confidence.
Harry works with both modern acrylics, as well as traditional ochres/stones and is confident with a Jarlk reed brush. He works on canvas and bark, while also carving yidaki or didj, and larrakitj or lorrkon.
Vote for your favourite photo – and enter the draw to win a special prize from our First Australian partners!
Each photo has been handpicked by the Caritas Australia team to showcase the stories of change and transformation that is made possible by your support.
A winner will be randomly selected to win a handpainted artwork by Harry Malibirr valued at $880.
The competition will close on June 30th. See the full terms and conditions here.