{"id":179458,"date":"2026-04-29T18:31:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-29T18:31:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/179458\/"},"modified":"2026-04-29T18:31:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-29T18:31:12","slug":"allentown-pa-priest-msgr-robert-coll-founder-of-international-relief-program-operation-rice-bowl-dies-at-95","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/179458\/","title":{"rendered":"Allentown, Pa., priest Msgr. Robert Coll, founder of international relief program ‘Operation Rice Bowl,’ dies at 95"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Msgr. Robert Coll, creator of the Rice Bowl Lenten initiative, speaks with youth during a Catholic Relief Services mission to African nations in this undated photo. Msgr Coll died April 20, 2026, at age 95 in Naples, Fla. (OSV News photo\/courtesy Archdiocese of Philadelphia\/Al and Camille St. Pierre) EDITORS: BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE.<\/p>\n

The priest who created Rice Bowl \u2014 which became Catholic Relief Services\u2019 annual Lenten program of prayer, fasting and almsgiving for humanitarian aid<\/a> \u2014 has died at age 95.<\/p>\n

Msgr. Robert J. Coll, a retired priest of the Diocese of Allentown, Pennsylvania, died April 20 in Naples, Florida, according to an April 24 obituary published by Florida Catholic, the Venice diocesan news outlet.<\/p>\n

He had relocated to the Diocese of Venice in 1999, and had for the past 25 years assisted at St. John the Evangelist Parish and St. Agnes Parish, both in Naples.<\/p>\n

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As of April 24, funeral arrangements had not yet been announced, said Florida Catholic.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Msgr. Robert Coll, pictured in an undated photo, died on April 20, 2026 in Naples, Fla., at age 95. Msgr. Coll, a Pennsylvania native and a priest of the Diocese of Allentown, Pa., was the founder of the Catholic Relief Services Operation Rice Bowl as a Lenten practice in the Allentown Diocese. The outreach was adopted in 1975 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as a promotion to support the worldwide outreach of CRS, its relief and development agency. (OSV News photo\/courtesy of Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church)<\/p>\n

Over the past five decades, Rice Bowl has raised \u201cnearly $350 million for poverty and hunger alleviation programs around the world and here at home,\u201d said CRS president and CEO Sean Callahan in an April 27 statement on Msgr. Coll\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

Callahan expressed \u201cdeep sorrow\u201d over the loss of Msgr. Coll, describing him as \u201ca visionary priest whose legacy of faith and service will endure for generations through CRS Rice Bowl.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe give thanks for a priest whose life was a gift poured out in service,\u201d Bishop Alfred A. Schlert of Allentown<\/a> told OSV News in an April 28 statement, noting the priest\u2019s \u201clegacy in the Diocese of Allentown will endure through the countless lives touched by his compassion, leadership, and unwavering faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rice Bowl \u2014 to which participants contribute from funds saved through fasting or preparing meatless meals \u2014 benefits millions in more than 100 countries.<\/p>\n

Of each year\u2019s collection, 75% supports humanitarian programs operated by CRS, the official relief and development agency of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The remaining 25% assists local efforts to eradicate hunger.<\/p>\n

The outreach began with a Lenten project Msgr. Coll launched while he was pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Allentown \u2014 and ultimately led the Pennsylvania-born priest across the world, bringing him face-to-face with the most impoverished.<\/p>\n

In a 2021 interview with CatholicPhilly, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Msgr. Coll recalled that \u201cthe idea was simple.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI have food, my brother has no food, so I will give him some of my food,\u201d said Msgr. Coll.<\/p>\n

He recalled in the interview that he had encouraged his parishioners to \u201ceat a truncated meal, maybe soup and a sandwich, and take the difference between that and what you would have spent as a kind of symbolic\u201d form of aid.<\/p>\n

The donations would then be deposited at the parish, separate from the general collection.<\/p>\n

Msgr. Coll told CatholicPhilly the outreach had quickly galvanized other local faith communities, with \u201cthe whole city of Allentown involved, about 13 Protestant churches,\u201d \u201cone Jewish congregation\u201d and \u201cabout 10 Catholic parishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

All sought to counter \u201ctremendous reports of suffering from Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa\u201d during the 1972-1975 global food crisis \u2014 as well as the horrors of the recent Vietnam War, which had left many \u201cwanting to do something, rather than bomb something,\u201d he recounted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a moment in time, divinely inspired,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>In this undated photo, Msgr. Robert Coll, creator of the Rice Bowl initiative, walks with St. Teresa of Kolkata, whom he met through his work with Catholic Relief Services. Msgr Coll died April 20, 2026, at age of 95 in Naples Fla. (OSV News photo\/courtesy Archdiocese of Philadelphia\/Al and Camille St. Pierre)<\/p>\n

News of Rice Bowl spread to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where the 41st International Eucharistic Congress was set to take place in 1976.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile our little group was designing this project in the basement of the world, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was planning its Eucharistic Congress,\u201d said Msgr. Coll, who was contacted by then Msgr. (and later Cardinal) John P. Foley, editor of The Catholic Standard and Times (the print predecessor of CatholicPhilly) and a pioneer in Catholic communications.<\/p>\n

Rice Bowl was a providential fit for the congress\u2019 theme, \u201cThe Eucharist and the Hungers of the Human Family,\u201d which \u2014 with the blessing of St. Paul VI \u2014 aimed to explore humanity\u2019s physical and spiritual hungers, Msgr. Coll recollected.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia Cardinal John J. Krol and CRS soon endorsed Rice Bowl, and by 1976, at least 118 U.S. Catholic dioceses had raised over $5.1 million.<\/p>\n

The iconic cardboard box, a Lenten fixture in U.S. Catholic households, became Msgr. Coll\u2019s ticket to the devastated communities he\u2019d sought to help.<\/p>\n

Callahan pointed to Msgr. Coll\u2019s \u201ccommitment to the global Church,\u201d which \u201cwas never more evident than when he answered the call in 1983 and traveled to Ethiopia to lead the Joint Relief Partnership for the Church\u2019s response to the devastating famine.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis presence on the ground was a turning point \u2014 bringing urgency, organization, and humanity to CRS\u2019 response at a moment when the world desperately needed them,\u201d said Callahan.<\/p>\n

In one undated photograph, a smiling Msgr. Coll is seen speaking with youth during a CRS mission to various African nations, crouching to greet them at eye level.<\/p>\n

The CRS missions also saw Msgr. Coll travel to Yemen, Poland and Lebanon. He met with St. Teresa of Kolkata and brought relief supplies to several of her Beirut-based Missionaries of Charity sisters, whom he found sheltering \u201cin a bombed-out building\u201d during Lebanon\u2019s long-running civil war.<\/p>\n

In a 2025 interview with OSV News \u2014 following the Trump administration\u2019s widespread slashing of foreign aid \u2014 Msgr. Coll said that Rice Bowl was poised for \u201cits strongest moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more funds you receive from the people, the greater pressure you put on governments to assist in a variety of ways,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Msgr. Coll said that \u201cthe idea of Operation Rice Bowl itself is an appeal for the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you spell out the initials, it\u2019s \u2018O.R.B.\u2019 \u2014 Latin for \u2018world,’\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He noted that the funds realized through Rice Bowl \u201cenabled you to do more with the international community,\u201d since \u201cyou could substantiate and put in progress programs immediately\u201d through \u201cthe backing of the international community, including Caritas Internationalis,\u201d the official humanitarian network of the universal Catholic Church, which has a presence in most nations.<\/p>\n

Msgr. Coll told OSV News that he believed \u201cthe satisfaction (of Rice Bowl) comes from the fact that the people understood what you were trying to do.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn other words, if there were grave problems in the world, to ignore them would itself be unacceptable as a Catholic and as a Christian,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Msgr. Coll stressed that he had envisioned Rice Bowl as a way of uniting families during Lent, with the meatless meals accompanied by Scripture and reflection.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy great fear was that it would become a collection,\u201d he admitted. \u201cIt was never intended to be a collection. It was intended to be an informative experience for the family.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his statement, Callahan said Rice Bowl \u201cgave U.S. Catholics a way to live the Church\u2019s call to solidarity \u2014 recognizing the God-given dignity of every person and the shared responsibility to care for our neighbors, especially those living in poverty \u2014 so we might truly feel connected to our sisters and brothers across borders and oceans.<\/p>\n

\u201cMillions of families use the program each year to put their faith into action and become one global Catholic family,\u201d said Callahan,<\/p>\n

Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.<\/p>\n

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