BOSTON -- When Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley was a young priest in Washington, D.C., a Salvadoran man entered his office with tears in his eyes.

"Father," the man said, "I don't know what to do."

The man was one of thousands of Central American refugees who came to the U.S., fleeing war in their home countries. He worked as a dishwasher and lived in a single room with six other men from his village. He ate leftover food off the dirty dishes he washed so he wouldn't have to spend money on meals. Every cent he earned went in envelopes that he would mail to his wife and six children in El Salvador. Now, however, he was holding in his hand a letter from his wife, accusing him of abandoning his family.

Cardinal O'Malley asked the man how he sent his family the money.

"I put it in a blue mailbox on the corner," he replied.

Cardinal O'Malley looked out his window and saw the "blue mailbox" was a trash can.

"For six months, he had been sending his wages in the trash," Cardinal O'Malley remembered as he accepted the John and Virginia Kaneb Justice and Compassion Award at the Catholic Charities Boston Spring Gala, held at the Boston Harbor Hotel on May 29. "It brought home to me how difficult it is to be an immigrant in a strange country."

The evening, which raised nearly $1.5 million to support Catholic Charities Boston, was an opportunity to honor Cardinal O'Malley and emphasize the organization's work, particularly with immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.

"We couldn't think of anyone more deserving . . . Than Cardinal Seán O'Malley," Mark Kerwin, chairman of the Catholic Charities Boston Board of Trustees, said before presenting the cardinal with the award. "He has faithfully and compassionately led the Archdiocese of Boston for 20 years. From addressing social inequities, expanding access to high-quality Catholic education, and his tireless advocacy for immigrants and the poor, Cardinal Seán has made an immeasurable impact on the world, and certainly here in Boston."

Cardinal O'Malley, who received two standing ovations, accepted the award with his usual humility.

"I am very touched by your goodness and grateful for all the support you are giving to Catholic Charities," he told the hundreds of donors seated at the gala.

He thanked everyone at Catholic Charities for their work, as well as Archdiocese of Boston Secretary for Health and Social Services Father Bryan Hehir. The cardinal called Father Hehir his "right-hand man" on social justice issues.

"Catholic Charities, in Boston, is such an important institution," Cardinal O'Malley said, "and it accomplishes so much because of the goodwill, the hard work, the energy, the devotion of so many people, and also the generosity and the sacrifices of so many others."

He described Catholic Charities as a continuation of Christ's top priorities of caring for the sick and hungry. He pointed out that half of the world's hospitals are operated by the Catholic Church. In the developing world, 70 percent of hospitals are church-run.

"The work of Catholic Charities is the same," he said. "We take care of those around us."

The cardinal used his remarks to highlight the plight of immigrants, particularly those who are undocumented, who feel "unwanted" and "persecuted" in an unfamiliar new country.

"We hear the case of the immigrant who commits a crime or the smuggler," he said. "For every bad apple, I assure you there are thousands of good apples."

He reminded those at the gala, as he admittedly likes to do, that the Catholic Church in Boston was built by immigrants.

"One year after the famine in Ireland," he said, "a third of Boston was Irish Catholic. You think they were glad to see us?"

He said that today's newcomers to the U.S. will eventually find a way in their new home and that their children will grow up to be loyal citizens who "make incredible contributions" to the country.

"The message of Catholic Charities is that every person counts, every person is important, every person is precious," he said. "Pope Francis is always reminding us: God put us here to take care of one another."

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey also delivered remarks at the gala.

"Cardinal O'Malley, for more than two decades you have led with such humility, such compassion, such calm," Gov. Healey said. "You have stood in the face of so many challenges and storms and trying times."

"You're a precious gem and resource for so many of us all here, not just in Massachusetts but in this country, for your leadership and what you represent," she added.

The governor thanked Cardinal O'Malley for his assistance during various crises, particularly the humanitarian crisis of Haitian migrant families coming to Massachusetts. Catholic Charities Boston helps to provide housing, employment, and English lessons to migrants, whom she described as "fleeing the worst form of oppression and violence and degradation."

"For all the challenges that we face as a state, as a nation, and as a world," she said, "I know the work that this organization does is really what it's all about."

She mentioned her recent visit to the Vatican with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, to participate in the Vatican Climate Conference.

"The reason why he's so invested in addressing (climate change) is because of his focus on the poorest among us, the most vulnerable among us, those for whom Catholic Charities really stands and represents every single day," she said.

Boston businessman and philanthropist Jack Connors, and Father John Unni, pastor of St. Cecilia Parish in Boston, were the evening's emcees. Father Unni delivered the blessing.

"Sometimes it's easy to lose faith," Father Unni said, citing the wars in Ukraine and the Holy Land, as well the recent flooding in Brazil, "but Catholic Charities is an organization that reminds me, you've got to let your faith kick in, and never lose hope."

"I couldn't help but think about the name Catholic Charities," Connors said. "To me, that's redundant, because being Catholic is being charitable. Not to the exclusion of any other faith, but when we're Catholic, we're taught to be charitable from the get-go."

Music during the gala was provided by pianist Ruslan Ramazanov, a Ukrainian refugee. Catholic Charities Boston helped Ruslan, as well as his wife and children, find a new home in the U.S. with its Welcome Circles program. Welcome Circles is an interfaith effort to find jobs and housing for refugees. In her remarks, Catholic Charities Boston President and CEO Kelley Tuthill said that the Ramazanov family is an example of how her organization is helping migrants.

"I'll be the first to admit it hasn't been easy, and it hasn't always been pretty," she said, "but our teams work so hard to make these shelters feel like homes ... We create communities where people can regroup and work with case managers to navigate their way to English classes, job training, and ultimately to their own permanent homes."

In the past year, Catholic Charities Boston has opened two shelters for homeless and migrant families. Eleven babies have been born in those shelters so far. Catholic Charities Boston also provides 1,200 families with after-school and summer childcare. In the future, Tuthill said, the organization plans to build new service centers and focus on combating Massachusetts's ongoing affordable housing crisis.

"Please know your generosity is having an incredible impact every day," she told those at the gala.