Catholic Relief Services
The international humanitarian and development agency of the Catholic community in the United States.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is the international humanitarian and development agency of the Catholic community in the United States. Established in 1943 by the U.S. bishops as War Relief Services, it initially focused on assisting refugees and displaced people in postwar Europe. Its mandate later expanded into long-term development, disaster response, health, agriculture, education, peacebuilding, migration assistance, and poverty reduction. CRS works in more than 110 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. The organization provides assistance according to need rather than religion, race, nationality, or political affiliation, while often delivering programs through local Catholic agencies, Caritas organizations, governments, community groups, and other nongovernmental partners. This partnership model emphasizes local ownership and the participation of communities in decisions affecting their livelihoods and resilience. Its emergency work includes food, clean water, shelter, hygiene supplies, cash assistance, health services, and protection for people affected by armed conflict, disasters, epidemics, and displacement. Development programs address agricultural productivity, environmental stewardship, maternal and child health, HIV and other diseases, education, microfinance, youth livelihoods, water and sanitation, and the strengthening of local institutions. Peacebuilding has become an agency-wide priority, with programs designed to reduce conflict risks and support more stable and just communities. CRS also maintains a domestic engagement role in the United States. Through parish, school, diocesan, and volunteer networks, it encourages Catholics and other supporters to participate in international solidarity and local anti-poverty work. CRS Rice Bowl, introduced in 1977, is its best-known U.S. fundraising and education program. The organization also advocates for international humanitarian, development, and diplomatic funding through coalitions such as the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition. CRS is a member of Caritas Internationalis, the global confederation of Catholic humanitarian organizations. It is headquartered in Baltimore and governed by a board composed of clergy and lay members. The organization’s modern identity combines emergency relief with longer-term development and a justice-oriented approach influenced by Catholic social teaching. Its programs are assessed through a Justice Lens intended to consider not only effectiveness and sustainability but also whether an intervention could unintentionally worsen social or economic tensions. In recent crises, CRS and local partners have responded to hurricanes and earthquakes, cyclones and floods, the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the Gaza conflict. The agency therefore operates both as a humanitarian responder and as a long-term development partner, seeking to link immediate assistance with recovery, resilience, and community-led change.
History
Catholic Relief Services was created in 1943 as War Relief Services by the Catholic bishops of the United States. Its original mission was shaped by the humanitarian consequences of the Second World War: helping refugees, displaced people, and communities whose homes and livelihoods had been destroyed. Early operations concentrated on Europe, where CRS workers distributed food, clothing, medicines, and other basic supplies. Bishop Edward E. Swanstrom served as executive director from 1947 to 1976, a period in which the organization developed much of its international operating structure. The agency’s scope broadened during the 1950s as decolonization created new independent states, American Catholic support remained strong, and U.S. government food and financial resources became available for overseas assistance. In 1955, War Relief Services was renamed Catholic Relief Services. Over the following decade, CRS established country programs in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Its activities increasingly moved beyond postwar European relief, although food distribution and assistance to people affected by conflict remained central. During the Vietnam War era, CRS also supplied food rations to the Republic of Vietnam military forces, reflecting the complicated environment in which many large relief agencies operated. During the 1970s and 1980s, CRS changed from an organization primarily associated with commodity distribution into a broader humanitarian and development agency. Programs increasingly addressed the social and economic conditions that produced poverty. Health care, nutrition education, agricultural development, microenterprise, and community capacity-building became major areas of work. Rather than treating emergency assistance and development as separate activities, CRS began linking relief with efforts to help households and communities recover and become more resilient. The 1990s brought an important institutional reassessment. In 1993, CRS began strategic planning intended to clarify its mission and identity. The 1994 genocide in Rwanda, in which more than 800,000 people were killed, prompted staff and leaders to examine how relief and development programs should be designed in societies affected by ethnic conflict or at risk of violence. The subsequent reflection contributed to a stronger emphasis on global solidarity, justice, conflict sensitivity, and the implications of Catholic social teaching for program design. CRS later adopted the Justice Lens as a framework for reviewing its work. The framework asks whether an intervention is effective and sustainable, but also whether it could unintentionally damage relationships, reinforce exclusion, or intensify economic and social tensions. This justice-centered approach helped integrate peacebuilding into the agency’s wider humanitarian and development portfolio. Peacebuilding programs have included support for local dialogue, conflict prevention, social cohesion, and community institutions in countries affected by instability. Internationally, CRS generally implements programs through partnerships with local Catholic agencies, Caritas members, governments, nongovernmental organizations, and community institutions. The organization’s stated approach emphasizes the capabilities of local partners and the involvement of program participants in defining priorities. Its work now covers emergency response, food and agriculture, health and nutrition, education, water and sanitation, youth development, livelihoods, migration, and peacebuilding. CRS has also cultivated a substantial U.S. engagement program. CRS Rice Bowl, launched in 1977, became a prominent Lenten resource for parishes, schools, and families. The program combines prayer, fasting, learning, and fundraising, with most proceeds directed to overseas development and a portion retained by participating dioceses for local hunger and poverty initiatives. In 2018, CRS created a Mission and Mobilization division to deepen domestic outreach, including campaigns focused on hunger and migration. In the twenty-first century, CRS has repeatedly combined rapid emergency response with longer-term recovery. Its programs have addressed major storms in the Caribbean and the Philippines, earthquakes and tsunamis in Indonesia, cyclones in Southern Africa, pandemics, armed conflict in Ukraine, and the Gaza crisis. Through Caritas Internationalis and other networks, the organization operates as part of a wider Catholic humanitarian system while retaining its identity as the international agency of the U.S. Catholic community. CRS is headquartered in Baltimore, maintains field offices on multiple continents, and is governed by a board consisting of clergy and lay members.
- 2018
Mission and Mobilization division created
[1]CRS established a U.S. outreach division focused on engaging Catholics and supporters in humanitarian advocacy and action.
- 2017
Caribbean hurricane response
[1]CRS and Caritas partners delivered food and hygiene assistance after Hurricane Maria.
- 1994
Rwanda crisis prompts program reassessment
[1]The genocide in Rwanda led CRS to reconsider relief practice in conflict-affected settings and strengthen its justice and peacebuilding orientation.
- 1993
Strategic mission review
[1]CRS began a strategic planning process to clarify its identity and institutional mission.
- 1977
Launch of CRS Rice Bowl
[1]CRS introduced its Lenten prayer, education, and fundraising program for U.S. Catholics and schools.
- 1955
Renamed Catholic Relief Services
[1]The organization adopted the Catholic Relief Services name as its international mission expanded beyond postwar European relief.
- 1943
Creation as War Relief Services
[1]The U.S. Catholic bishops established War Relief Services to assist refugees and people affected by the Second World War.
Products and positioning
Faith-based international humanitarian and development organization serving people in need without discrimination.
Fundraising and education program · 1977
CRS Rice Bowl
A Lenten program used by parishes, schools, and families in the United States. It combines prayer, fasting, educational stories, simple-meal resources, and donations collected in a rice bowl. Funds support overseas development work, while a designated share remains in participating dioceses for local hunger and poverty projects.
Humanitarian assistance
Emergency response
Rapid assistance for people affected by disasters, conflict, and displacement. Depending on the crisis, CRS and its partners provide food, water, shelter, hygiene materials, health support, cash transfers, household items, and protection services, with recovery and resilience activities often following the initial response.
International development
Agriculture and food security
Programs intended to improve household food security and income through agricultural production, natural-resource stewardship, market access, and community capacity-building. CRS presents agriculture as both a livelihood activity and a route toward stronger local control over development.
Health services
Global health and nutrition
Community and partner-based health programming addressing disease prevention, maternal and child health, nutrition, HIV/AIDS, water and sanitation, and emergency public-health needs. Programs are adapted to local health systems and frequently include training, awareness, and facility support.
Education and livelihoods
Education and youth development
CRS supports early-childhood, primary, secondary, and higher-education initiatives, including school feeding and improved access for refugees and girls. Youth programs also build economic, agricultural, leadership, and peacebuilding skills; its YouthBuild work in Central America has focused on connecting young people with employment and community participation.
Conflict prevention
Peacebuilding
Long-term programming designed to help communities reduce violence, strengthen social cohesion, and build peaceful and stable institutions. CRS works with regional advisers, headquarters specialists, local partners, and training institutions to integrate conflict sensitivity and peacebuilding into broader development work.
Marketing campaigns
- 2018Lead the Way on Hunger
United States
A U.S. Catholic engagement campaign associated with CRS’s Mission and Mobilization work and focused on responding to hunger.
Outcome. Integrated into CRS’s broader domestic mobilization and advocacy activities.
- 2018Lead the Way on Migration
United States
A Catholic engagement campaign addressing migration and encouraging supporters to participate in humanitarian and advocacy efforts.
Outcome. Became part of CRS’s U.S. outreach and mobilization portfolio.
- 1977CRS Rice Bowl
United States
A nationwide Lenten campaign encouraging prayer, fasting, learning, and charitable giving. Participants use educational materials and a physical collection bowl to connect local Catholic practice with hunger and development issues abroad.
Outcome. The program became one of CRS’s best-known U.S. engagement and fundraising initiatives, supporting overseas development and local diocesan anti-poverty work.
Brand decisions
2018
Created Mission and Mobilization divisionStrategyBackground
CRS sought to deepen engagement with Catholics and supporters in the United States.
Action taken
The organization created a dedicated division for domestic outreach, including hunger and migration campaigns.
Aftermath
U.S. parish, school, volunteer, and advocacy engagement became a more defined part of CRS’s operating model.
1990
Shift toward justice-centered programmingStrategyBackground
Institutional reflection during the 1990s, intensified by the Rwanda genocide, raised questions about how relief and development programs could affect conflict and inequality.
Action taken
CRS incorporated a stronger global-solidarity and justice orientation, later using the Justice Lens to assess program effects.
Aftermath
Peacebuilding and conflict-sensitive programming became more prominent across the agency’s portfolio.
1955
Adopted the Catholic Relief Services nameStrategyBackground
The agency had expanded beyond its original postwar European refugee-relief mandate into a wider international humanitarian role.
Action taken
War Relief Services was formally renamed Catholic Relief Services.
Aftermath
The new name reflected a broader geographic and programmatic identity that developed across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Recent events
- 2023
CRS provides assistance in Gaza[1]
Other
CRS reported providing cash assistance, food parcels, hygiene supplies, and emergency shelter materials to people affected by the Gaza war, working with local and humanitarian partners.
- 2022
CRS supports humanitarian relief in Ukraine[1]
Other
CRS supported Caritas Ukraine and other partners with emergency assistance and later participated in a housing-repair program for vulnerable households affected by conflict.
- 2020
CRS expands COVID-19 programming[1]
Other
CRS adapted programs to remote and socially distanced delivery, supported health facilities, installed hand-washing stations, and conducted public-awareness activities in dozens of countries.
- 2019
CRS supports Southern Africa after Cyclones Idai and Kenneth[1]
Other
CRS and church partners supplied shelter, hygiene materials, water, food, and other relief after the cyclones struck Mozambique and neighboring countries.
- 2018
CRS responds to Typhoon Mangkhut in the Philippines[1]
Other
The organization supplied water-treatment materials, shelter assistance, hygiene kits, and cash support while also supporting disaster-risk reduction with Caritas Philippines.
- 2018
CRS responds to the Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami[1]
Other
Following the earthquake and tsunami in Indonesia, CRS and Caritas Indonesia provided emergency kits, food, clean water, household goods, shelter, and cash assistance.
- 2017
CRS responds to Hurricane Maria in the Caribbean[1]
Other
CRS and Caritas partners distributed food and hygiene supplies in affected Caribbean countries, including Cuba and the Dominican Republic, after Hurricane Maria.
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