Parish and school leaders as well as other parishioners who are interested in championing the call to support Catholic Relief Services are invited to attend a special liturgy and presentation on Jan. 24.
The CRS Rice Bowl Mass will kick off the Lenten fundraiser in the Archdiocese of Louisville. Archbishop Shelton J. Fabre will be the celebrant and homilist for the 10 a.m. liturgy at Holy Family Church, 3938 Poplar Level Road.
The Rice Bowl collection “invites Catholics to live in solidarity with our poorest and most vulnerable brothers and sisters through the three Lenten pillars of praying, fasting and almsgiving,” said Archbishop Fabre in a letter to priests about the event.
Funds donated through Rice Bowl are used for CRS’s work around the world and to assist in local relief efforts. Each year, 25 percent of the collection stays in the Archdiocese of Louisville to support emergency food and shelter needs.
Last year’s collection was up 38.5 percent over the previous year, resulting in $15,000 in additional funds for local charitable work, said the archbishop’s letter.
“That is solely thanks to the great participation of our archdiocese,” he wrote.
Peyton Rhea, who promotes Rice Bowl through his work at Catholic Charities of Louisville, encourages people to attend the Rice Bowl kickoff in January.
“This event is ideal for members of our archdiocesan community that would be interested in learning more about CRS Rice Bowl and then advocating and promoting the 2024 CRS Rice Bowl collection within their parish and community.”
The presentation after Mass will share “more about the Rice Bowl collection, the impact it has on the vulnerable of our world, even those here in our own community, and learn best practices for facilitating a successful Rice Bowl collection.”
Catholic Relief Services is the U.S. church’s international relief organization. It provides humanitarian assistance worldwide by responding to emergencies, providing programs to combat poverty and disease and other works that aid people in need.To register to attend the kickoff Mass and presentation in January, contact Rhea at prhea@archlou.org or 637-9786 by Dec. 15.
