The four-yearly, 19th General Assembly of International Caritas will be held in Rome from the 22nd to the 27th May. It will also mark the 60th anniversary of the founding of the confederation. 300 delegates from all over the world will be participating. On the opening day Mass will be celebrated by the Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone. In the course of their sessions in Rome The delegates will meet Pope Benedict XVI in audience. International Caritas is an International Confederation of 165 national Caritas, which coordinates the intervention of national Caritas on the occasion of emergencies and crises. The current president of the confederation is Salesian Cardinal Oscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, Honduras. In 2004 Pope John Paul II granted a public canonical giuridical status to the confederation because its a union of National Caritas which are the official organs of the Bishops as also in recognition of the immense services rendered by the Confederation to the Church and to humanity. This juridical status meant the updating of the statutes of the confederation. The General Assembly will be a precious opportunity to present the work done in accord with the updated statutes. It will also reflect on the plan of work for the coming four years.
