Bishop Kicanas Named Chairman of Catholic Relief Services Board, Succeeds Archbishop Dolan

WASHINGTON (November 17, 2010) — Bishop Gerald Kicanas of Tucson, Arizona, has been appointed chairman of the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) Board of Directors. Cardinal Francis George, OMI, of Chicago, outgoing president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), made the appointment with the full support of USCCB president-elect Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York during executive session of the USCCB’s annual Fall General Assembly in Baltimore.

Bishop Kicanas, the outgoing vice president of the USCCB, succeeds Archbishop Dolan as CRS chairman. Archbishop Dolan vacated the CRS position upon his election as the new president of the USCCB November 16.

“I am particularly pleased that Bishop Kicanas has been selected as chairman of the Board of CRS,” said CRS president Ken Hackett. “Bishop Kicanas is well known to us and has been a good friend to CRS for many years, both in our work overseas and in the U.S. We have collaborated on a range of issues, and Bishop Kicanas has made it a point to visit many of our CRS offices in his overseas travels. We have been inspired by his commitment to the poor and vulnerable throughout the world. We look forward to his leadership at this important moment in CRS history.”

At their meeting, the bishops also elected four bishops to the CRS board: Bishop William Callahan, OFM Conv., of La Crosse, Wisconsin, Bishop Frank Dewane of Venice, Florida, Archbishop Michael Sheehan of Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Bishop John Wester of Salt Lake City. Archbishop Sheehan and Bishop Wester were reelected to a second term.

CRS is the official international humanitarian agency of the Catholic Church in the United States, providing assistance to people in more than 100 countries. As part of the mission of the Catholic Church, CRS works with local, national and international Catholic institutions and structures, as well as other organizations, to promote human development by responding to major emergencies, fighting disease and poverty, and nurturing peaceful and just societies.
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Kewords: Catholic Relief Services, Bishop Gerald Kicanas, Tucson, chairman of the board of directors, CRS, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, relief, Archbishop Timothy Dolan