In 1932, Bishop Rudolph A. Gerken, the first Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Amarillo, created Diocesan Catholic Charities. Then in 1935, in the midst of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression, Bishop Robert E. Lucey, the second Bishop of Amarillo, organized the Catholic Welfare Bureau. Lucey partnered with the Amarillo Community Chest to help those who needed assistance with food and clothing.
At that time, Amarillo’s population hovered around 50,000, and when federal relief efforts fell back to local communities, Amarillo was not prepared. Undeterred, Bishop Lucey located a trained social worker in California and begged her to come to the panhandle of Texas. Miss Rosa Fortuny started working for the Catholic Welfare Bureau on March 1, 1935, from a building located at 1321 E. 10th Street.
Ms. Fortuny joined forces with other social service agencies in the city and started creating programs. Within three months, she started sewing classes for women and girls, cooking classes at the Guadalupe school cafeteria (feeding approximately 114 children a day), athletic activities, and Boy and Girl Scout troops. In addition, she organized weekly medical clinics for families with the generous support of Amarillo physicians and hospitals.
These early efforts were the foundation of Catholic Family Service, Inc., a multi-service agency which offers assistance to people of all faiths, races and ages.
