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Each year, Catholic Extension Society presents the Spirt of Francis Award to “an individual or group who has made a significant impact on the mission of the Catholic Church in America through service or philanthropy.” Those recognized must be committed to serving people who are marginalized in society in the spirit of the award's three namesakes – St. Francis of Assisi, Pope Francis, and Fr. Francis Clement Kelley, founder of Catholic Extension Society.
This year’s award went to Kerry Alys Robinson, currently the president and chief executive officer of Catholic Charities USA. Robinson has served in that role since August 2023, the first laywoman to do so. Before that, she was the founding executive director of Leadership Roundtable, which promotes excellence in management, financing, and human resource management in the Catholic Church. She is also a lifelong member of the Raskob Foundation, which her family founded in 1945 to promote the good works of the Catholic Church.
Honoring a woman of faith and service
“Kerry, tonight we are here to recognize you as a great mentor of faith, hope, love and leadership.,” said Catholic Extension Society president Father Jack Wall. “You are one of the most articulate and inspirational voices in the Church today, and you are giving continual witness to the transformative power of the risen Christ at work right here, right now. You are a great woman of faith.”
Father Wall presented the Spirit of Francis award to Robinson at a dinner in New York City last Tuesday night. Joining him in the presentation was the 2022 award recipient, Sister Carol Keehan.
After thanking the Catholic Extension Society, Robinson said:
“My work on behalf of the Church, for which I am profoundly grateful, has always included work to promote the role of women in meaningful positions of leadership in the Church and at the tables of decision-making. It has always been a matter of managerial and moral urgency, not for women's sake, for the Church's sake. For without the leadership, expertise, judgment, participation, generosity, and talents of women, along with men, the whole Church is impoverished.”
During the dinner, a number of other women were also acknowledged for their service to the Church. As she concluded her remarks, Robinson thanked “the extraordinary women who are with us tonight from across the country who work tirelessly to serve the poor.”
Fighting spiritual poverty
Catholic Extension Society was founded in 1909 to help build up and support Catholic faith communities in poor and isolated areas of the United States. Among its many activities, the society funds the construction and renovation of churches and church facilities, distributes scholarships for Catholic universities, subsidizes seminary education in financially-challenged dioceses, and supports pastoral and social outreach activities, including ministries for the young and families.
In his remarks, Father Jack Wall joked that his organization is often confused with Catholic Charities. Though they are “linked together,” he distinguished the two organizations’ missions in this way:
“Catholic Charities dedicates itself so beautifully and impactfully with the gospel call to eradicate material poverty. At Catholic Extension, we are about the corporal works of mercy. Catholic Extension Society is dedicated to the eradication of spiritual poverty.”
In keeping with the theme of the evening, proceeds from the dinner went to benefit women’s leadership and ministry in the Catholic Church.
