Edwin Broderick

Edwin Bernard Broderick (January 16, 1917 – July 2, 2006) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Albany in New York from 1969 to 1976.

Broderick previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New York from 1967 to 1969. From 1976 to 1983, he served as executive director of Catholic Relief Services.

Early life and education Edwin Broderick was born on January 16, 1917, in the Bronx, New York, to Patrick S. and Margaret M. (née O'Donnell) Broderick. His father was a member of the New York City Fire Department who died in 1948 during a mass celebrated by his son. Broderick received his early education at the parochial school of St. Anselm Church in the Bronx, graduating in 1930.

Broderick attended Regis High School in New York City from 1930 to 1934, then began his studies for the priesthood at Cathedral College in Queens, where he remained for two years. After his ordination, the archdiocese assigned him as a curate at Nativity of Our Blessed Lady Parish in the Bronx.

In 1951, Broderick earned a doctorate in English from Fordham University in the Bronx. He was appointed as the American representative to the Pontifical Commission for Television by Pope Pius XII in 1954.

From 1954 to 1964, Broderick served as secretary to Spellman. Broderick served on the court-appointed Citizens' Committee that investigated the handling of the 1971 Attica Prison riot in Attica, New York. He increased awareness of CRS throughout the American Catholic community; he sponsored short films and new publications. Broderick also stage telethons that were hosted by the entertainer Arthur Godfrey, the comedian Buddy Hackett and the singer Trini Lopez. He also established the agency's first direct mail appeal to donors.

During his seven-year tenure at CRS, Broderick restructured its governance of and increased the involvement of the laity in its operations. He also launched Operation Rice Bowl, one of the most successful programs in CRS history. Under his guidance, CRS responded to numerous crises including the 1976 Angolan Civil War, the 1977 cyclone in India, the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia of the 1970s, the Afghan war and the Lebanese Civil War. He resigned as executive director of CRS in 1983.

Later life and death Broderick spent his retirement in Manhattan and administered confirmations in many parishes. In 2005, he moved to Teresian House in Albany, where he died on July 2, 2006, at age 89.