Charles Owen Rice
Rice in 1967
Born	November 21, 1908 Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Died	November 13, 2005(2005-11-13) (aged 96) McCandless, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	Duquesne University Saint Vincent Seminary
Occupations	Catholic priest, labor organizer
Known for	Activism

Charles Owen Rice (November 21, 1908 – November 13, 2005)^[1] was aCatholicpriest and an American labor activist.

Rice was born inBrooklyn, New York, toIrish immigrants.^[2] His mother died when he was four, and he and his brother were sent to Ireland to be raised by his paternal grandmother, in a large extended family home along the seafront inBellurgan,County Louth. Seven years later he returned to the United States.^[3]

In 1934, after studies atDuquesne University andSaint Vincent Seminary, he was ordained into the priesthood.^[2] He served in theDiocese of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for seven decades. His brother Patrick (died 1971) was also an ordained priest inPittsburgh and acanon lawyer.^[3] His cousin, also called Patrick Rice (June 1918 – June 8, 2010), was an ordained priest inDublin and similarly elevated to the Canonry.

In 1937, Rice foundedSt. Joseph's House of Hospitality with two other Roman Catholic priests,Carl Hensler andGeorge Barry O'Toole.^[4] Also that year, the three priests formed theCatholic Radical Alliance.^[5]

During theGreat Depression, Rice began his activism in social causes and especially in the Americanlabor movement. Rice was mentored by Pittsburgh's original labor priestFather James Cox, and as a leader of theCatholic Radical Alliance, was involved in strikes against theH.J. Heinz Company.^[6]

He metDorothy Day and was a friend ofPhilip Murray, founder of theSteel Workers Organizing Committee and president of theCongress of Industrial Organizations.^[7]

Rice helped form theAssociation of Catholic Trade Unionists. From 1937 to 1969, Rice held a weekly radio program on which he often discussed the labor movement,communism, and St. Joseph's House. Rice was appointed rent director of the Hill District duringWorld War II.^[5]

During seven decades of priesthood, Rice was pastor of Pittsburgh-area congregations including St. Joseph's inNatrona, Immaculate Conception inWashington, Holy Rosary inHomewood, and St. Anne's inCastle Shannon.^[5]

For many years, Rice was a columnist for thePittsburgh Catholic. Rice was an early organizer and contributor toNational Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, a coalition of antiwar activists, participating in the initialSpring Mobilization to End the War in Vietnam demonstrations, held in New York City in April 1967. He opposed America's involvement in theVietnam War in 1969, and supported workers in Pittsburgh when they lost their jobs and livelihood as the steel industry closed in the 1980s.^[8]

• Heineman, Kenneth J. (1999).A Catholic New Deal: Religion and Reform in Depression Pittsburgh. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press.ISBN 0-271-01895-X.
• Rice, Charles Owen (1996).Fighter With a Heart: Writings of Charles Owen Rice, Pittsburgh Labor Priest. Pittsburgh:University of Pittsburgh Press.ISBN 0-8229-5619-5.
• McGeever, Patrick J. (1989).Rev. Charles Owen Rice: apostle of contradiction. Pittsburgh, PA: Duquesne University Press.ISBN 0-8207-0209-9.

• 1908 births
• 2005 deaths
• American anti–Vietnam War activists
• Activists for African-American civil rights
• History of Catholicism in the United States
• Religious leaders from Pittsburgh
• Religious leaders from Brooklyn
• American people of Irish descent
• Duquesne University alumni
• Roman Catholic activists
• Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh
• History of labor relations in the United States
• Congress of Industrial Organizations people
• Trade unionists from New York (state)
• Catholics from New York (state)
• 20th-century American Roman Catholic priests
• Activists from Pittsburgh

• CS1 errors: archive-url
• CS1 maint: url-status
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles with hCards