By 1900 , there were more than 800 Catholic institutions dedicated to the care of children , the elderly , the sick , and the disabled . According to Jack Hansan of the Social Welfare History Project , by 1910 about half of the approximately 15 million Catholics in the United States lived in poverty . Only three diocesan charity agencies were organized prior to 1910 . The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 and ensuing fire prompted the Archdiocese of San Francisco to form Catholic Charities CYO the following year to assist destitute families and care for children who were orphaned by the disaster
San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
Catholic Charities USA