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At the start of Catholic Relief Services' 2025 Rice Bowl initiative, marking its 50th year, OSV News spoke with Msgr. Robert Coll, founder of the program and a retired priest from the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania. The Rice Bowl is an annual Lenten program that combines almsgiving and prayer to support aid efforts both overseas and domestically.
Participants in the Rice Bowl donate Lenten alms by eating simple meals and learning about those who benefit from the campaign worldwide. Known for its cardboard donation boxes, the program provides testimonials and recipes from countries where CRS operates, fostering solidarity among participants.
Msgr. Coll expressed optimism about this year's collection despite the U.S. government's suspension of foreign aid affecting CRS initiatives. He stated, "Well, I think it could be its strongest moment because the more funds you receive from the people, the greater pressure you put on governments to assist in a variety of ways."
Reflecting on how Rice Bowl evolved from a local initiative to a national one, Msgr. Coll recounted starting it in Allentown with participation from Protestant churches and a rabbi. The local newspaper published weekly menus for participants during Lent.
The program gained national attention when Cardinal John Krol invited Msgr. Coll to present it at the 41st International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia. This led to American bishops supporting its expansion across America.
At that time, CRS was active in over 100 countries worldwide, making it logical for them to partner with Rice Bowl due to their focus on food distribution.
Msgr. Coll noted that understanding global issues was crucial: "If there were grave problems in the world, to ignore them would itself be unacceptable as a Catholic and as a Christian."
In 1976, then-Msgr., later Cardinal John Foley helped raise awareness by writing about Rice Bowl in Philadelphia's diocesan newspaper.
The initiative also incorporates prayer throughout Lent. Msgr. Coll described his vision: "Our idea was that this was to be a 'para-liturgy,' if you will — that the father (of a household), on Wednesday night, would read something from Scripture and his wife would prepare the so-called meal for Rice Bowl."
Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News.
