The mission of CHARIS was given by Pope Francis when it was founded in 2019.

​

CHARIS aims to serve and create communion between all the realities existing in Catholic Charismatic Renewal for the good of the entire Church and the proclamation of the Gospel in the world. The work of CHARIS is centred on the following shared objectives given to CHARIS by Pope Francis:

• To deepen and promote the grace of baptism in the Holy Spirit and the exercise of charisms throughout the whole Church.

• To promote the ecumenical dimension of Catholic Charismatic Renewal (CCR) and foster the commitment to serving the unity of all Christians.

• To promote service of the poor and social action.

​

Charles Whitehead defines the setting up of CHARIS at Pentecost 2019 as ‘the clearest sign of the great importance Pope Francis gives to this Spirit-inspired movement for the blessing and empowering of millions of people worldwide.’

​

Charles continues: “In Francis' view, the Charismatic Renewal needed to understand itself as a pastoral instrument in the service of the Pope, not belonging to its members but to the Church. Francis describes it as 'a current of grace' which goes beyond individuals and is confirmed in its ecclesial identity by the pastors of the Church. So CHARIS was a new phase in its ecclesial maturity. As Cardinal Farrell expressed it, the birth of CHARIS is the fruit of a profound understanding from the Church itself of the identity of the Charismatic Renewal as a current of grace, which is a unique service, excluding no-one. 

​

“It was Francis himself who wanted this to reach everywhere in the world, whilst remaining open to the impulse of the Spirit and avoiding a hierarchical leadership in relation to the countless expressions of this stream. CHARIS is an organism of service in obedience to the Holy Spirit - not one of government. It is a service of unity in diversity, of Communion. It provides a new structure within the Church to support all those who are working to share this current of grace everywhere. In order to promote CHARIS, and receive maximum benefit from it, the leaders of the Charismatic Renewal have renamed their central office in Rome CHARIS and have established regional CHARIS Leadership Teams, as well as CHARIS National Service Committees and CHARIS Diocesan Service Committees.”