(OSV News) ─ The priest who created Rice Bowl ─ which became Catholic Relief Services' annual Lenten program of prayer, fasting and almsgiving for humanitarian aid ─ has died at age 95.
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.
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.
As of April 24, funeral arrangements had not yet been announced, said Florida Catholic.
Over the past five decades, Rice Bowl has raised "nearly $350 million for poverty and hunger alleviation programs around the world and here at home," said CRS president and CEO Sean Callahan in an April 27 statement on Msgr. Coll's death.
Callahan expressed "deep sorrow" over the loss of Msgr. Coll, describing him as "a visionary priest whose legacy of faith and service will endure for generations through CRS Rice Bowl."
"We give thanks for a priest whose life was a gift poured out in service," Bishop Alfred A. Schlert of Allentown told OSV News in an April 28 statement, noting the priest's "legacy in the Diocese of Allentown will endure through the countless lives touched by his compassion, leadership, and unwavering faith."
Rice Bowl ─ to which participants contribute from funds saved through fasting or preparing meatless meals ─ benefits millions in more than 100 countries.
Of each year's 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.
The outreach began with a Lenten project Msgr. Coll launched while he was pastor of St. Thomas More Parish in Allentown ─ and ultimately led the Pennsylvania-born priest across the world, bringing him face-to-face with the most impoverished.
In a 2021 interview with CatholicPhilly, the newspaper of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Msgr. Coll recalled that "the idea was simple."
"I have food, my brother has no food, so I will give him some of my food," said Msgr. Coll.
He recalled in the interview that he had encouraged his parishioners to "eat 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” form of aid.
The donations would then be deposited at the parish, separate from the general collection.
Msgr. Coll told CatholicPhilly the outreach had quickly galvanized other local faith communities, with "the whole city of Allentown involved, about 13 Protestant churches," "one Jewish congregation" and "about 10 Catholic parishes."
All sought to counter “tremendous reports of suffering from Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa” during the 1972-1975 global food crisis -- as well as the horrors of the recent Vietnam War, which had left many "wanting to do something, rather than bomb something," he recounted.
"It was a moment in time, divinely inspired," he said.
News of Rice Bowl spread to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, where the 41st International Eucharistic Congress was set to take place in 1976.
“While our little group was designing this project in the basement of the world, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia was planning its Eucharistic Congress,” 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.
Rice Bowl was a providential fit for the congress' theme, "The Eucharist and the Hungers of the Human Family," which -- with the blessing of St. Paul VI ─ aimed to explore humanity's physical and spiritual hungers, Msgr. Coll recollected.
Philadelphia Cardinal John Krol and CRS soon endorsed Rice Bowl, and by 1976, at least 118 U.S. Catholic dioceses had raised over $5.1 million.
The iconic cardboard box, a Lenten fixture in U.S. Catholic households, became Msgr. Coll's ticket to the devastated communities he'd sought to help.
Callahan pointed to Msgr. Coll's "commitment to the global Church," which "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 the devastating famine."
"His presence on the ground was a turning point ─ bringing urgency, organization, and humanity to CRS' response at a moment when the world desperately needed them," said Callahan.
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.
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 “in a bombed-out building” during Lebanon's long-running civil war.
In a 2025 interview with OSV News ─ following the Trump administration's widespread slashing of foreign aid ─ Msgr. Coll said that Rice Bowl was poised for "its strongest moment."
"The more funds you receive from the people, the greater pressure you put on governments to assist in a variety of ways," he said.
Msgr. Coll said that "the idea of Operation Rice Bowl itself is an appeal for the world.
"If you spell out the initials, it's 'O.R.B.' ─ Latin for 'world,'" he said.
He noted that the funds realized through Rice Bowl "enabled you to do more with the international community," since "you could substantiate and put in progress programs immediately" through "the backing of the international community, including Caritas Internationalis," the official humanitarian network of the universal Catholic Church, which has a presence in most nations.
Msgr. Coll told OSV News that he believed "the satisfaction (of Rice Bowl) comes from the fact that the people understood what you were trying to do.
"In other words, if there were grave problems in the world, to ignore them would itself be unacceptable as a Catholic and as a Christian," he said.
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.
"My great fear was that it would become a collection," he admitted. "It was never intended to be a collection. It was intended to be an informative experience for the family."
In his statement, Callahan said Rice Bowl "gave U.S. Catholics a way to live the Church's call to solidarity ─ recognizing the God-given dignity of every person and the shared responsibility to care for our neighbors, especially those living in poverty ─ so we might truly feel connected to our sisters and brothers across borders and oceans.
"Millions of families use the program each year to put their faith into action and become one global Catholic family," said Callahan.
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Gina Christian is a multimedia reporter for OSV News. Follow her on X @GinaJesseReina.
