Antonio Fernández outlines food and housing priorities as new executive director of Catholic Charities in New York

Antonio Fernández, the newly appointed executive director of Caridades Católicas de la Arquidiócesis de Nueva York, told Diálogo Abierto that his two immediate priorities for the agency in New York are food distribution and housing assistance. Fernández said he took the role in September and described a decades-long career in charitable work across Chicago and San Antonio before returning to New York.

"Hoy hemos dado comida a más de 450 familias," Fernández said, and later in the interview he stated that "más de 400,000 personas en Nueva York recibieron comida el año pasado" and that "más de 25,000 familias recibieron vivienda o ayuda con vivienda a través de Caras Católicas." Those figures were presented by Fernández in the interview; the article reports them as his claims.

Fernández emphasized that Catholic Charities does not ask about religion, immigration status or other personal details when providing help: "Nosotros no vamos a preguntar si eres católico o si eres latino o si tienes documentos. Nosotros vamos a preguntar, ¿tienes hambre? ¿Tienes un sitio para dormir?" He described the organization’s Bronx operations as extensive, saying the agency operates roughly 25 offices in the borough that provide food, housing help and social services.

On background, Fernández said he was born in Spain, worked as a psychologist in Chicago, later moved to San Antonio to continue charitable work and was encouraged by the cardinal to return to New York. He said he is not an ordained priest and described a personal motivation to help communities he calls "people with need."

Fernández and the host discussed the scale of need in the city and differences the agency faces across jurisdictions. He described San Antonio’s large intake of migrants during recent years, cited the organization helping "335,000 personas en dos años" in San Antonio, and said that New York presents a different mix of poverty, hunger and housing pressure.

Fernández asked anyone who needs help or who wants to volunteer to contact Catholic Charities directly or use the agency’s online resources; the host closed the program after thanking him. The figures Fernández gave on air are presented here as his statements and should be confirmed with Catholic Charities for reporting that relies on independently verified numbers.