Catholic Relief Services, a relief and development agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, carries out the commitment of the USCCB to assist the poor and vulnerable overseas.
CRS Rice Bowl is a Lenten program of “prayer, fasting, learning, and almsgiving” held in more than 14,000 parishes and schools across the U.S. Based on the distribution and collection of a cardboard Rice Bowl box used to collect alms, this Lenten program also includes a Lenten calendar with reflections for each day of Lent, simple recipes to prepare meals from around the world, and stories from various countries where CRS provides assistance.
The upcoming 2020 CRS Rice Bowl Program begins on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 26. Shipments of Rice Bowl materials should have arrived in parishes and schools in the latter part of January.
Parishes and schools that wish to participate for the first time, and participating parishes and schools which need additional materials or have not received expected materials, should call toll-free 1-800-222-0025.
Materials are available in both English and Spanish. Orders for first-time or additional CRS Rice Bowl materials that are requested by Feb. 7 should arrive in parishes and schools in time for distribution prior to the start of CRS Rice Bowl on Ash Wednesday.
Learn more about CRS Rice Bowl at www.crsricebowl.org.
CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Region for the Federal Association of the Sovereign Order of Malta announces that member Knight Joseph Tronco of Charlotte has been awarded the Cross Pro Merito Melitensi by the Sovereign Council in Rome.
The Cross Pro Merito Melitensi is awarded to those who have brought honor to the Order of Malta, promoting Christian values in serving the poor, sick and disadvantaged.
The Order of Malta was founded in 1050, and remains true to its inspiring principles, summarized in the motto “Tuitio Fidei et Obsequium Pauperum,” nurturing, witnessing and protecting the faith and serving the poor and the sick representing the Lord, which become reality through the voluntary work carried out by Dames and Knights in humanitarian assistance and medical and social activities. Today the order carries out these activities in more than 120 countries.
Tronco has been a member of the Order of Malta since 2001 and has served on its board of directors in Washington, D.C., as well as many other boards and organizations in the Charlotte and
Charleston areas. He and his wife Kathy are parishioners of St. Gabriel Church in Charlotte.
— Billy Schiffiano