The Catholic Letters

In the New Testament there is a group of letters called "The Catholic Letters" Which are these letters? Why are they so called?

The letters of James, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude and 1, 2 and 3 John (seven in all) are together called the "Catholic Letters”. The reason for this is because they were not addressed to any particular congregation like the letters of Paul are but to the Whole/Universal Church. Though the letter of James is addressed to “the twelve tribes in the dispersion”, the second letter of John is addressed to “the elect lady and her children” {assumed by most Scholars to be the Universal Church) and the third to “the beloved Gaius” these are thought to be the whole Church and not individuals or specific Churches.