The Catholic priest who created Operation Rice Bowl – Catholic Relief Services’ annual Lenten program – has died at the age of 95.
Monsignor Robert Cole, a retired priest of the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, died on April 20 in Naples, Florida.
Born on August 13, 1930, Cole grew up in a devout Catholic family in the Philadelphia area. After attending St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, called to the priesthood, he attended St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and was ordained priest on May 7, 1959.
Early in his priesthood, Cole was a professor at Notre Dame High School in Easton and chaplain at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. In 1961, he became a priest for the then newly established Diocese of Allentown.
From 1966 to 1980, Cole served as the founding pastor of St. Thomas More Church in Allentown and it was there, in 1975, that he created Operation Rice Bowl.
Operation Rice Bowl There was a Lenten response to starvation in Africa and families were encouraged to donate the money they saved from fasting and eating meatless meals during Lent to those suffering from hunger.
Today, the Rice Bowl is a national program of Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and has raised more than $350 million in 12,000 parishes across the country.
In reaction to Cole’s passing, CRS President and CEO Sean Callahan said in a statement statement: “It is with deep sorrow that we mourn the passing of Monsignor Robert Cole, a visionary priest whose legacy of faith and service will endure for generations through the CRS Rice Bowl, a program he founded more than 50 years ago.”
He added: “Through the CRS Rice Bowl, Monsignor Cole gives American Catholics a way to live out the Church’s call to solidarity – recognizing the God-given dignity of each person and the shared responsibility to care for our neighbors, especially those living in poverty – so that we can truly feel connected to our sisters and brothers across borders and oceans. Millions of families each year come together to practice their faith and become a global Catholic family. ”
In 1980, Cole joined CRS as assistant executive director in New York City and later served as its European director in Rome until 1985. His ministry has taken him to some of the world’s most urgent humanitarian crises in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and South America.
During the Lebanese Civil War, Cole accompanied Mother Teresa to active war zones to reach out to her community, caring for disabled children and elderly victims.
He also served as on-air guide for Mike Wallace, one of the original correspondents featured on the CBS news program “60 Minutes”, on his reports about the devastating Ethiopian famine and helped bring global attention to the crisis.
Speaking on this assignment, Callahan said: “His commitment to the global church was never more evident than when he answered the call in 1983 and traveled to Ethiopia to lead the Joint Relief Partnership for the Church’s response to a devastating famine. His presence on the ground was a turning point – bringing urgency, organization and humanity to CRS’s response at a time when the world desperately needed them.”
Cole returned to parish ministry in 1987 as pastor of Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Bethlehem where he served until his retirement in 1996. During his retirement, the priest helped establish St. Agnes Catholic Church in Naples, Florida. He also helped celebrate Mass regularly at St. John the Evangelist Parish, where his burial Mass would take place on May 12.
“His faith never wavered. His enthusiasm never waned,” Callahan said. “And the warmth and inspiration he brought to those around him is present in every bowl of rice and every hungry family fed.”
