| Robert J. Vitillo | |
| Occupation: | Secretary general at International Catholic Migration Commission |
Robert Joseph Vitillo (New Jersey, 1946) is the Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC). Prior to that, Vitillo has served in various high level functions in Catholic charitable agencies, including Caritas Internationalis and the Catholic Campaign for Human Development. A trained social worker, he is known for his broad expertise on human migration and refugee services, child protection, social services, human rights, HIV/AIDS and global health.
Born in New Jersey (United States of America) in 1946, Vitillo completed undergraduate studies at Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and then pursued graduate studies in theology and psychology at Catholic University of America (Washington D.C.). In 1976, he received a Master of Social Work degree from Rutgers University, New Jersey, with concentrations in clinical social work and management.[1]
During the 1980s, Vitillo served as Director of the multi-service Catholic Charities agency in the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey, where he also coordinated the resettlement of Southeast Asian, Ethiopian, Eritrean, Haitian and Cuban refugees to the United States. Between 1986 and 1995, Vitillo held different positions with Caritas Internationalis, the Vatican-based Confederation of 165 national Catholic humanitarian assistance, social and health service, and development programs in all regions of the world.[2] There he first served as Head of Service for North America and Europe; during that time, he helped to establish many new Caritas organizations in Eastern and Central Europe. He later served as Director of Programs and then as International Delegate to the United Nations Headquarters in New York and to the World Bank in Washington, D.C..
From 1997 to 2005, he was Executive Director of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the largest private funding source for organizations working to eradicate poverty and social injustice in the USA[3]
Between 2005 and 2016, Vitillo had also served as Head of the Caritas Internationalis Delegation to the UN in Geneva and as its Special Advisor on Health and HIV/AIDS.[4]
In June 2016, Vitillo was appointed as Secretary General of the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), an international Catholic Church-inspired and non-governmental organization working in the area of migration and refugee assistance.[5] Founded in 1951, in the wake of the massive human displacement caused by the Second World War, ICMC provides assistance and protection to uprooted people in more than 50 countries worldwide.[6] The organization was granted public juridical status by the Holy See in 2008.
During his career, Vitillo has taken up various special assignments. In 1980, he helped to design the ICMC Cultural Orientation Program for Southeast Asian refugees being processed in Bataan, Philippines, for eventual resettlement in USA and other countries. He provided technical and pastoral advice to several organizations on appropriate church-based responses to HIV and facilitated training programs in child welfare, adoption services, and outreach education programs on HIV/ AIDS. He is also the author of a number of publications on human rights, HIV/AIDS and global health, migration and refugee resettlement, child welfare, and social services.
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