Catholic Relief Services (CRS) was founded in 1943 by the Catholic Bishops of the United States to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas.  CRS is the official international relief and development agency of the United States Catholic community. The CRS provides emergency supplies to families in other countries following disasters and assists with food, water, and housing.  In poverty stricken areas of the world, CRS provides better agricultural practices, public health information, microloans to help individuals or groups wanting to start a business, and a number of other ways of helping people to help themselves.   CRS operates in more than 90 countries.  For more information go to http://crs.org/

To help parishes learn about other countries and the ways in which CRS is involved, CRS provides priests & deacons to speak at weekend liturgies.  Several parishes in the Diocese of Davenport have taken advantage of this program in the past and all have been pleased with the result, including the response by parishioners.  These priests and deacons are called Global Fellows. 

To invite a Global Fellow to your parish or community. Contact us at 410-951-7336 or globalfellows@crs.org.

Use the link below to learn more about CRS.

Catholic Relief Services

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New - Justice and Peace Advocacy Team (JPAT)

With the assistance of Catholic Relief Services, the Dioceses has formed a Justice and Peace Advocacy Team (JPAT) to provide a voice for the poor and disenfranchised to our state and federal legislators.  The Team studies the issues, formulates positions, and plans advocacy so that Catholics are able to assure the "least of these" are ahead.  The Team meets the last Tuesday of each month, presently at 5:30 p.m. in Iowa City at St. Patrick Church, 4330 St. Patrick Dr.

Click here to learn more information about JPAT