Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – His Royal Highness Grand Duke Henri of Luxembourg, eldest son of the Grand Duke Jean and Grand Duchess Josephine-Charlotte of Luxembourg, has been chosen as the winner of the Cardinal Van Thuan Prize. The Saint Matthew Foundation begun in 2007 by the Pontifical Council Justice and Peace, as its statutes say, “to continue recalling the imminent evangelical testimony of the faith, of hope, and of charity and a convinced assertion of the need to reflect on and spread the social doctrine of the Church, acknowledging that its Christian witness is a patrimony that cannot be lost and must bear fruit.” Thus, Cardinal Renato Raffaele Martino, President of the Pontifica Council for Justice and Peace, highlighted in the presentation of the awards ceremony, which will take place on September 16 at the “Palazzo Colonna” in Rome, that “the Van Thuan Prize places all of its purpose in the human and spiritual inheritance left by Cardinal Van Thuan. His suffering for thirteen years, unjustly confined to a prison in Vietnam encourages us to be vigilant in assuring that human rights are defended and promoted and Cardinal Van Thuan, with his extraordinary life testimony teaches that, through authentic peace, sincere pardon, and the living and faithful hope of the Gospel message, we can fight for the defense of the dignity of man.”
This year, the small statue of Saint Matthew, symbol of the Prize, will be bestowed upon Grand Duke Henri of Luxemburg. He has been married 28 years to Maria Teresa Mestre, is the father of give children, and active member of the “Mentor Foundation,” created under the auspices of the World Health Organization to end drug consummation among the youth. He and his wife are also the founders of the “Fondation Grand-Duc Henri-Grande-Duchesse Maria Teresa” which works in the area of aid and humanitarian efforts. Above all, the Grand Duke “lives out Catholic principles, especially the defense of life and religious freedom.”
Along with the prize for distinguished persons, the Foundation will also bestow the Van Thuan Solidarity and Development Prizes, which are presented to Institutions, Organizations, Associations, which carry out humanitarian project that operate in developing countries for the defense of human rights, through the promotion and diffusion of Gospel principles, following the guidelines of the Church's social doctrine.” The Van Thuan Solidarity and Development Prizes differ from the Van Thuan Prize in that it is “characterized by a concrete support given to the works that the project carries out. The contribution in the form of money is a tangible sign of the closeness and attention of the Saint Matthew Foundation, so that the humanitarian projects that have been awarded, among numerous candidates, may carry out the end to which they were created.”
The four winners of this award are: the non-profit organization COMIS, "Cooperazione Missionaria e Sviluppo" run by Msgr. Andrea Vece at the Our Lady of Fatima parish in Salerno, Italy; the ALAS project of the "Caminos de Libertad" Foundation in the archdiocese of Bogota, Colombia, for the building of a national center for pastoral care in penitentiaries and their families; the Skills Development Center for the Blind run by Fr. Carlo Velardo S.D.B. in Pakkred, Thailand (see Fides 19/5/2006); and "ROCHER L'oasis des cites", an association dedicated to educational and social projects at the service of inhabitants of "difficult" neighbourhoods of French cities, begun by Cyril Tisserand, a courageous young man from the Emmanuel Community. (MT) (Agenzia Fides 16/9/2009)
