Early in the Great Depression, English and French business leaders in Montreal presided over the reorganization and rationalization of Catholic charities in their communities with the blessing, but not the active participation, of the Church. Thus started a decades-long transition from religious charity to public welfare, from largely volunteer work to professional social work, from charity provided by alms to private assistance financed by centralized, large-scale campaigns. Focusing on the Federation des uvres de charite canadiennes-francaises and the Federation of Catholic Charities,...