priest saying mass in South Sudan

CRS Church Engagement

Photo by Karen Kasmauski for CRS

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The CRS Church Engagement Team works to anchor the U.S. Church's Catholic identity deeply in global compassion and action. By working closely with key church leaders and partners, we aim to spark transformation through community giving, advocacy, and movement building.


We support bishops, clergy, seminarians, dioceses, and national partners throughout the U.S., engaging them in social justice and solidarity through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching. We connect the U.S. Church's love for the world with tangible change!  


Opportunities for engagement, tools, and resources:

  • Global Fellows Program - Catholic Relief Services’ Global Fellows are a network of priests and deacons who have a love for the global Church and for proclaiming Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbor. They engage Catholics in the United States by witnessing CRS’ lifesaving work and sharing their experiences with their communities. For more information contact us at [email protected]
  • CRS Campaigns — resources and tools to pray, learn, take action and inspire your community to support our sisters and brothers most in need around the world.
  • Action Center: Resources and Tools — resources and tools to help you advocate effectively
  • CRS Chapters  — Ask us how you can become part of a CRS Chapter, through which you can take meaningful actions on behalf of our most vulnerable sisters and brothers around the world.
  • Community Giving - CRS fundraising options to discover ways you and your community can make a difference
  • CRS Rice Bowl — Through CRS Rice Bowl, faith communities in dioceses throughout the United States put their faith into action through prayer, fasting and almsgiving.
  • Pray with us. Invite Jesus to accompany you to a Prayer Walk with CRS! You can join us in English and Spanish.

Global Fellows Program

global fellows walking in Madagascar

Six Global Fellows visit a CRS project in Madagascar that helped 348,000 people in the diocese of Moramanga to resolve issues causing wide spread soil erosion and air pollution affecting nearby rice patties and agricultural lands.

Photo by Susan Walters/CRS

 

Request a Speaker

To request a speaker click this link and fill out the speaker form. Someone from the clergy office will be in contact with you regarding the details.

Church Engagement Team Members

Roberto Navarro
Roberto Navarro: Senior Director Church Engagement

Roberto Navarro works with USCCB/bishops to promote CRS chapters, campaigns and be advocates for the vulnerable. He also collaborates with the USCCB and other national ministry leaders to engage them in our campaigns and ensure that CRS concerns are heard.

 

 Jacklyn Ireland: Diocesan Support Advisor

Jacklyn Ireland works with 93 dioceses sharing information about chapters, campaigns and CRS Rice Bowl. She also provides several diocesan communications offices with our monthly blurbs which have been sent out diocesan wide.

 

Vivi Iglesias, National Advisor for Partnerships

Vivi leads the effort to build and inspire engagement with US-Based National Catholic Organizations, Ministries, Member Networks, and Publishing Companies. Collaborating closely with our partners to inspire, challenge, and resource their members for engagement in missionary discipleship that calls forth their leaders and networks to becoming prophetic advocates for justice and the common good. She connects partners in key global issues through CRS issue-based campaigns and chapters.

 

Lucia Guyer
Lucia Guyer:  Bilingual Coordinator 

Lucia provides overall administrative and operational support to the Church Engagement Team.

 

 

 

 

Frances Casey portrait
Frances Casey: Clergy Outreach Advisor

Frances Casey engages seminarians, priests and deacons in CRS campaigns and chapters. She works with seminary partners across the country to support the integration of Catholic Social Teaching in their formation. She also encourages Global Fellows to integrate CRS campaigns into their parishes and communities. 

 

 

Advisor, Diocesan Engagement
Jesus Huerta: Advisor, Diocesan Engagement

Jesus works to cultivate and inspire key diocesan relationships in dioceses already engaged or that have initiated engagement with our issue-based campaigns and/or CRS chapter methodology. In his role, Jesus strives to inspire and encourage diocesan partners to move into a deeper engagement with CRS.