Secours catholique (French for "Catholic relief"), also known as Secours catholique - Caritas France,[3][4][5] is a French not-for-profit organisation. It works to alleviate problems of poverty and exclusion of all sections of the population and seeks to promote social justice. Secours catholique is a service of the Catholic Church in France.
Secours catholique was established in 1946 on the occasion of the Lourdes pilgrimage, with the return of 100,000 prisoners and deportees. It was founded by the French priest Jean Rodhain, former chaplain to prisoners of war, with the approval of the Assembly of Cardinals and Archbishops of France. His goal was to work with volunteers to support persons experiencing poverty without distinction of race, religion or nationality. In 1954, the organisation created its first『Cité』providing accommodation for the workers from Maghreb. Later, many other such establishments were created for people in precarious situations, the homeless, disabled people and migrants.[6][7]
In 1962, Secours catholique received the『reconnu d'utilité publique』status (recognised as being of public interest) which brought with it certain advantages related to donations.[6][7]
In the 1970s and 1980s, in the context of rising unemployment and new precariousness, Secours Catholique urged the public authorities to initiate social justice policies to combat the causes of poverty.[6][8]
In France, Secours Catholique covers the whole country through to its 3,500 local teams divided into 72 local offices called "delegations". It carries out its activities with the help of 900 employees and 59,000 volunteers.
In addition to its work in France, Secours catholique also work internally by supporting the development cooperation and humanitarian relief efforts of its partners organisations around the world. The organisation is one of the NGO partners of DG ECHO.[9]
