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The Catholic Church operates numerous charitable organizations.

Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel, while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-governmental provider of education and medical services in the world.

History

The Catholic Church has had a long tradition of coordinating charity to the poor, something that was closely linked to the early Christian Eucharist, with the office of deacon being started for this purpose.

Over time this became a part of the bishop's responsibilities and then from the fourth century onwards was decentralised to parishes and monastic orders. After the Reformation, the Church lost a large amount of property in both Catholic and Protestant countries, and after a period of sharply increased poverty, poor relief had to become more tax based.

Within the United States, each diocese typically has a Catholic Charities organization that is run as a diocesan corporation, i.e., a civil corporation owned by the diocese or archdiocese.

List of major Catholic charities (non-exhaustive)

• Aid to the Church in Need
• Ascension
• CAFOD
• Catholic Charities USA
• Catholic Home Missions
• Catholic Near East Welfare Association
• Catholic Relief Services
• Caritas Internationalis
• CIDSE
• Community of Sant'Egidio
• Cordaid
• Fidesco International
• Jesuit Refugee Service
• Malteser International
• Maryknoll
• Missionaries of the Poor
• Pontifical Mission Societies
• Renovabis
• Society of St Vincent de Paul
• Talitha Kum
• Trócaire

See also

• Christian humanitarian aid
• Catholic Church and health care
• Catholic school
• Catholic higher education
• Ad gentes
• Catholic lay organisations

References

1. Agnew, John (12 February 2010). "Deus Vult: The Geopolitics of Catholic Church". Geopolitics. 15 (1): 39–61. doi:10.1080/14650040903420388.
2. Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Care of the Poor by the Church" . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.

v t e Catholic laity
Organizations of lay members of the Catholic Church who are neither in holy orders nor members of religious institutes
Personal ordinariates, prelatures, and apostolic administrations	Military ordinariates Ordinariate for Eastern Catholic faithful Opus Dei Anglican Use: Chair of Saint Peter, Our Lady of the Southern Cross, Our Lady of Walsingham Saint John Mary Vianney
Third orders	Order of Augustinian Recollects Order of Saint Augustine Oblates of Saint Benedict Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites Order of Saint Dominic Order of Saint Francis Secular Franciscan Order Order of Mercy Order of Minims Order Secular of the Most Holy Trinity Order of Saint Norbert Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Association of Salesian Cooperators Order of Servites
Confraternities	Archconfraternities Archconfraternity of the Holy Family Archconfraternity of the Most Precious Blood Types Confraternities of the Cord Confraternity of Penitents Flagellant confraternities Purgatorial society Individual Confraternity of Christian Doctrine Confraternity of Catholic Saints Confraternity of the Rosary Bona Mors Confraternity Children of Mary of the Sacred Heart Hospitalité Notre Dame de Lourdes Illustrious Brotherhood of Our Blessed Lady Penitentes Penitential Brotherhood of the Holy Eucharist Society of the Holy Name Ven. Arc. Misericordia di Florence RVISSM
International associations of the faithful	Catenian Association Chemin Neuf Community Christian Life Community Christian Life Movement Cooperators of Opus Dei Couples for Christ Cursillo Communion and Liberation Emmanuel Community FIMCAP Focolare Movement Heralds of the Gospel International Alliance of Catholic Knights International Catholic Conference of Scouting International Federation of Catholic Universities International Kolping Society International Union of Catholic Esperantists Lay Claretian Movement L'Arche Legion of Mary Militia Christi Militia of the Immaculata Neocatechumenal Way Pax Romana Priests for Life Regnum Christi Sant'Egidio Community SIGNIS Schoenstatt Movement Teams of Our Lady Teresian Association UIGSE Union of Catholic Apostolate
Other associations of the faithful	Apostolate for Family Consecration Association of Vatican Lay Workers Catholic Charismatic Renewal (Canção Nova) (Shalom Catholic Community) Catholic Christian Outreach Catholic Worker Movement Fellowship of Catholic University Students Madonna House Maryknoll Lay Missioners NET Ministries Pope's Worldwide Prayer Network Queen of Angels Foundation Saint Paul's Outreach Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
Movements	Catholic Marian movements and societies Catholic Action Azione Cattolica Catholic Women's League Catholic Worker Movement World Movement of Christian Workers Young Christian Workers Christian Family Movement Courage International El Shaddai Family Rosary Crusade Fidesco International Notre-Dame de Chrétienté Theology on Tap Voice of the Faithful Young Men's Institute We Are Church
See also	Catholic catechesis Catholic Congress Catholic Extension Catholic higher education Catholic youth work Catholic campus ministry Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life Lay Centre at Foyer Unitas Lists of Catholics Pontifical Council for the Laity Taizé Community Universal call to holiness Charities Aid to the Church in Need Caritas Catholic Charities Home Missions CNEWA Relief Services CIDSE Pax Christi Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
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