A Brief History

In 1931 Monsignor Edward Klosterman was designated the director of Catholic Charities, a small diocesan office created by Covington Bishop Francis Howard to coordinate the mission of charity in the diocese of Covington. The agency began its formal operations as a direct service provider as Catholic Social Services Bureau in 1948 in two small rooms above a St. Vincent de Paul store in Covington, KY when Msgr. Klosterman hired Mrs. Mary Moser as a professional social worker.

Originally a child welfare agency, licensed for child care and placement in 1949, the agency has grown to serve a wide variety of needs for the Northern Kentucky community. Catholic Social Services Bureau became a member of the United Way of Cincinnati in 1955, and in 1960 the agency mission was broadened to provide counseling services to strengthen families.

In 1973, the agency was challenged to “humanize and transform the social order” through an expanded mission of “service, advocacy and convening”. Efforts were initiated to provide emergency services and material assistance. These efforts resulted in the establishment of Welcome House, Erlanger/Elsmere United Ministries, BeCon, and others. Catholic Social Services Bureau was incorporated in 1978 and reincorporated in 1987 as Catholic Charities, Inc. at which time it included Parish Kitchen in its service array. The organization has maintained accreditation with the Council on Accreditation of Services to Families and Children since 1996 and is licensed to provide adoption and foster care as well as substance abuse treatment and DUI programming by the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Our housing counseling programs are certified by HUD and NeighborWorks and our divorce support and DUI programs are used by the courts of Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties.

We have received numerous awards for innovative and collaborative programming from the Northern Kentucky Area Development District, the Kentucky Housing Corporation and other organizations. Today, nearly 80 years after our beginnings, Catholic Charities provides multiple programs to over 11,000 persons annually without regard to race, religion or life circumstance. Our mission is “to promote healing, restore hope, and affirm human potential through services that empower, voices that speak for justice and partnerships that strengthen communities.”