By Justin McLellan

VATICAN CITY (CNS) – Charity involves more than offering material aid to those in need; it also calls for a commitment to fostering societal change, Pope Francis said.

Those dedicated to charity must embrace “the challenge of being a motor of change within society by spreading a spirit of charity and justice,” he said Dec. 5 during a meeting with members of Caritas, the charitable arm of the Archdiocese of Toledo, Spain.

Through their dedication to service, charity workers can “reawaken in all people of goodwill a fraternal awareness” that may sometimes “fall dormant” or fail to grow, the pope said.

According to archdiocesan statistics, Caritas initiatives in the Archdiocese of Toledo aided 23,526 people in 2023, distributing more than 5 million euros to combating various forms of poverty.

Members of the organization traveled to Rome to mark the 60th anniversary of its founding.

A deep commitment to charity is what distinguishes Caritas from other civic or philanthropic organizations, enabling them to be “instruments of evangelization through the universal language of charitable works,” the pope said.

Works of charity, Pope Francis said, “need no translator, there is no dictionary to translate them, it is a universal language.”

“The whole world understands (charity),” he said. “It is a language understandable to all, written with the witness and strength of all Caritas workers committed to Jesus Christ and the Gospel.”

The pope said that responding to the needs of the poor requires individuals to cultivate their unique talents through a “human and spiritual formation” that equips them to address ever-evolving social challenges in light of the church’s social teaching.

The pope encouraged Caritas members to uphold the church’s social doctrine with “a spirit of collaboration and synodality across all pastoral realities in the diocese.”

He also called on charity workers to serve as “teachers of the wisdom that the world so urgently needs” — the wisdom of Christ, conveyed through prayer and the sacraments. This wisdom is especially vital today, Pope Francis said, in a world where “foolishness is bought and sold” at a costly price.