June 6, 2024 – In recognition of his years of service, Pax Christi USA is proud to announce that Ralph McCloud is the recipient of the Eileen Egan Peacemaker Award, which is given periodically to honor a group or individual who has made a strong and extraordinary prophetic witness for peace in a time or situation of devastating violence or injustice. It was last presented in 2010 to the Leadership Conference of Women Religious.
The award is named for Eileen Egan, one of the co-founders of Pax Christi USA, a long-time executive with Catholic Relief Services and friend to both Dorothy Day and Mother Teresa. The recipient of the Eileen Egan Peacemaker Award exhibits the same spirit which we associate with Eileen: steady courage to speak the truth of nonviolence in a world addicted to war-making; deep compassion for persons who live amidst violence and poverty; and unshakeable perseverance to change the world for the better.
“From his days in city government in Fort Worth, Texas to his leadership role in the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) and in everything else he does, Ralph McCloud has promoted the kind of peace that is rooted in justice,” said Pax Christi USA Bishop President John Stowe, OFM Conv. “The CCHD is the U.S. Church’s signature program for putting the values of Catholic Social Teaching into practice and under Ralph’s leadership many new initiatives were funded to help impoverished communities become protagonists in improving their own futures. He was also instrumental in teaching about how the CCHD works and transforms lives.”
McCloud served as executive director of the CCHD, a project of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishop (USCCB), for 16 years before resigning in May 2024. For more than 50 years, CCHD, the official anti-poverty program of the U.S. Catholic Church, has funded low-income organizations across the country – it has awarded more than 9,000 grants, promoting leadership development, systemic change, and poverty alleviation. It is the “preferential option for the poor” in action.
“I am humbled and honored to be recognized by Pax Christi USA,” said McCloud. “I have long admired and respected their courageous and faith-filled work. In today’s world, they truly represent what it means to care. Pax Christi engages people to pursue justice, embrace peace and escort one another into right relationships with God and one another. This is a tremendous honor!”
McCloud was chosen for this award for his unceasing efforts to lift up and center Catholic social teaching, even at great personal cost, while asserting in his words and action, as Pope Francis has taught, that “the future of humanity … is fundamentally in the hands of people and in their ability to organize. It is in their hands, which can guide with humility and conviction this process of [social] change.”
“It was an easy decision for Pax Christi USA to honor Mr. McCloud for his long commitment in leading the Catholic Campaign for Human Development, guiding the Church’s efforts to address poverty, to empower organizations committed to constructive social change, and to center the work of social justice in the institutional church,” stated Johnny Zokovitch, Pax Christi USA Executive Director. “We recognize most importantly that he has persevered in this work despite counter-prevailing winds in our Church and the larger society that have fed polarization, racism, xenophobia, and the demonization of impoverished people.”
Plans for the presentation of the award are currently underway and will be announced at a later date.
For more information, contact Judy Coode, Pax Christi USA communications director, at jcoode@paxchristiusa.org.
For more information on the history of the Eileen Egan Peacemaker Award and past recipients, click here.