CRS 75th Anniversary

We take a peek behind the curtain to see how we’ve built on 75 years to become a leader in emergency response and recovery.

Every day, CRS works with some of the most vulnerable children on Earth. Hear how they inspire us with their courage and resilience during the most difficult situations.

Love, play, care and laughter are ingredients that make up a well-rounded childhood. Hear how Catholic Relief Services is helping families on the margins—of violence, hunger and disease—raise healthy and happy children.

Mother Teresa. Eileen Egan. Dorothy Day. These are the women who inspire us. Hear from Dr. Carolyn Y. Woo, the former—and first woman—president and CEO of Catholic Relief Services, who was educated by Maryknoll Sisters in Hong Kong.

Discover the legacy of Monsignor John Romaniello, the famous “Noodle Priest” who fed hundreds of thousands of hungry children in Hong Kong, created the first food-for-work programs and appeared on the iconic 1960s TV show, To Tell the Truth.

Hear about the courageous and unlikely adventures of Monsignor Wilson Kaiser as he traveled across sub-Saharan Africa in a VW bus, establishing CRS’ first country programs—and relationships that would last decades.

High above New York City, 20 CRS staff are hard at work in the Empire State Building helping World War II refugees. Out of nowhere, a plane crashes right into their offices. Hear a survivor’s incredible tale and find out how CRS came to be in the building in the first place.

The beginnings of Catholic Relief Services, then War Relief Services, is revealed from two vantage points: a Polish refugee sent to the modest colony of Santa Rosa, Mexico, and from the commanding view of the Empire State Building in New York City. It’s 1943.