2025 marks the 50th year of Catholic Relief Services' Rice Bowl, which was founded in the Diocese of Allentown by Monsignor Robert J. Coll. Since its inception in 1975, Rice Bowl has raised 350 million dollars in 12,000 parishes across the United States.
Monsignor Robert J. Coll, priest of the Diocese of Allentown and pastor emeritus of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Bethlehem, established “Operation Rice Bowl” as a Lenten practice, first with the acronym “O.R.B.” representing “orb.”
Monsignor Coll says this spiritual and material undertaking during the Lenten Season allows man to look outside of himself to the “sensitivity” of the needs of the world by providing an opportunity for Catholics to ask, “Who is my brother?”
During its creation, Operation Rice Bowl, in addition to its backing from the Diocese of Allentown, gained the support of a local rabbi and several Protestant churches. Together, they desired to respond to the crisis caused by droughts in Africa in the 1970s.
However, in God’s providence, the 41st International Eucharistic Congress came to Philadelphia in 1976 with the theme, “Eucharist and the Hungers of the Human Family.”
Monsignor Coll collaborated with the International Eucharistic Congress, and with the help of Monsignor John Foley, who served on its board of governors and who later became Cardinal John Foley, he brought the initiative to the attention of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
Eventually, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops partnered with Catholic Relief Services, and what was once a profound interfaith response to the crisis caused by droughts in Africa, became a national and international initiative during the Lenten Season.
As a form of fasting and almsgiving, clergy, religious, and laypeople in the Diocese of Allentown and across the United States continue to make simple meals and skip eating out. Instead, they place their extra change aside and into the "rice bowl" which they send to support relief the services of the Church.
Yet, as Monsignor Coll notes in this 50th year, this is not just a “collection” but a “charitable moment” whose sentiment must be “nourished and re-nourished” by Christ's teachings on spiritual and material poverty in Matthew's Gospel.
His hope and prayer for those participating and encouraging those to participate in Rice Bowl is that they continue to “keep the development of the people’s faith as the object of the exercise” in addition to the need to support the relief services of the Church.
Throughout his time as a parish priest and in his time with Catholic Relief Services, Monsignor Coll eventually traveled with Mother Teresa of Calcutta to convents and homes for the poor and dying.
In 1983, Mother Teresa sent a letter to thank those leading Rice Bowl in the Diocese of Allentown which currently hangs in St. Thomas More Parish, Allentown.
The Diocese of Allentown continues to joyfully support the efforts of Rice Bowl among its 78 parishes. Last year alone, the Diocese of Allentown raised $180,000.
Of the money received, 75% went to fight hunger and poverty worldwide, and 25% of the donations stayed within the Diocese of Allentown. The relief funds were sent as grants to supplement services and support programs across Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuylkill Counties.
Some of the local impacted programs include:
- Catholic Charities programs across the Diocese of Allentown
- The Kennedy House in Reading, PA
- The Whitehall-Coplay Hunger Initiative in Whitehall, PA
- Various parish and Catholic school food programs, including St. Vincent de Paul Societies, food banks, and meal programs for low-income children and families in all five counties across the Diocese of Allentown
In this Jubilee Year of Hope, the Diocese of Allentown is honored to highlight how the inspiration and efforts of one priest, Monsignor Coll, along with the collaborative support of other priests, deacons, religious, laity, and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, have created a lasting source of hope for the poor and vulnerable throughout the universal Church over the past 50 years.
