The Catholic Relief Services Collection, an annual fund supporting Catholic Church organizations that carry out international relief efforts, will be taken up March 18-19.
“With so many global humanitarian disasters and suffering people, it’s often difficult to decide how to respond effectively,” Bishop James S. Wall, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on National Collections, said in a written statement about this year’s effort. However, he said thanks to gifts to the Catholic Relief Services Collection, Catholics “can address a range of needs worldwide.”
“Each gift to this annual collection … helps people everywhere in the name of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church,” he added. “Whenever you give, your offering is multiplied by thousands of fellow Catholics, bringing rescue and relief among the most vulnerable and marginalized people on earth.”
In 2022, the Diocese of Camden- collected $138,695 for this campaign.
The fund will provide support for Catholic Relief Services, the U.S. bishops’ international relief and development agency, as well as the Catholic Legal Immigration Network, or CLINIC, the Holy Father’s Relief Fund, the USCCB Department of Migration and Refugee Services for refugee resettlement, the USCCB Department of International Justice and Peace, and the USCCB Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church.
“As chairman of the USCCB Committee on National Collections, I see the good works that our Catholic people make possible through this collection,” Bishop Wall said. “Their support helps reveal Christ’s love to refugees, victims of wars and disasters, and people with unique pastoral needs.”
The fund has previously aided more than 75,000 Afghans who fled Taliban persecution in their homeland to resettle in the United States, peacemaking efforts in Congo and improved conditions in refugee camps in Uganda, Bishop Wall said.
The fund also has provided for the apostolate of the Catholic Church for the people of the sea, known as “Stella Maris,” part of the USCCB program for the Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees and Travelers, which ministers to people who work in seafaring roles without regular access to Mass.
“Stella Maris missionaries at ports on the Gulf Coast brought sacraments and pastoral care, co-sponsored COVID vaccinations and provided Bibles, rosaries and care packages for voyages ahead,” Bishop Wall said.
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