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.
60 Faces: Portraits of Compassion in Action
60 Faces: Portraits of Compassion in Action 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 represent all we achieved together in the last 60 years, supporting vulnerable communities to confront the challenges of poverty and build a thriving future.
Caritas Australia 60th Anniversary Virtual Gallery
We have compiled a selection of our favourite 60 photos in this virtual gallery below. These 60 faces represent all we achieved together in the last 60 years, supporting vulnerable communities to confront the challenges of poverty and build a thriving future.