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Release date
November 04, 2004
Contact
Elizabeth Griffin
Director of Communications
Baltimore, MD
410-951-7361

Papal Honor Bestowed Upon CRS President

November 04, 2004, —

Catholic Relief Services (CRS) president Ken Hackett will receive the Knight Commander of Saint Gregory the Great medal, one of the highest Papal honors, in a special ceremony on October 31 at 3:00 p.m. in the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore, Maryland. Archbishop Cardinal William H. Keeler will bestow the honor upon Hackett for his outstanding service to the papacy and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

“I am truly humbled and honored,” said Hackett. “We would not be able to do the Lord’s work were it not for our staff all over the world who fight poverty each and every day. This award is dedicated to them.”

Hackett’s entire professional career has focused on aiding the poor and disenfranchised throughout the world. With a commitment to human rights and social justice, he is the driving force behind CRS, one of the world’s most effective and efficient relief and development agencies in the humanitarian aid industry. As President of CRS, an organization he joined more than 30 years ago, Mr. Hackett oversees operations in more than 90 countries and commands a global staff of over 4,000.

A native of West Roxbury, Massachusetts, Hackett began his career in 1968 with the Peace Corps, serving as an advisor to an agricultural cooperative movement in Ghana and working on a United Nations Development Program on Lake Volta. Following the Peace Corps, Hackett worked for CRS in Sierra Leone. After spending three years in West Africa, he returned to the agency's headquarters, then in New York City, and attended a graduate program at New York University while working in the agency's Africa Regional Office. In 1978, Hackett was named the Regional Director for Africa, traveling extensively throughout the region. While in this position, he oversaw the relief operation in Ethiopia, the largest operation undertaken in the agency's history in the early 1980s.

In 1985, Hackett was named Director of External Affairs for the agency, responsible for the agency's fundraising and its church and media relations. Hackett returned to the field in 1987 when he was named Country Representative in the Philippines. In 1992, he again returned to Africa as the Regional Director of East Africa, based in Nairobi. At this time, he was responsible for the agency's response to the crisis in Somalia and other activities in the East Africa region.

In July of 1993, Hackett was named Executive Director of CRS, and on July 1, 2003 he was appointed President.

Hackett has served as North America President of Caritas Internationalis and is currently a member of the boards of Pontifical Commission COR UNUM, Migration & Refugee Services - USCCB; International Policy Committee-USCCB; Jesuit Refugee Service; The Africa Society; and the Food Aid Coalition. Most recently, Hackett was appointed to the Board of Directors of the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a new initiative of the Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress to improve the accountability and impact of foreign assistance.

Mr. Hackett lives in Columbia, Maryland with his wife Joan and two children, Jennifer and Michael.