Aid to the Church in Need to receive FUS’s Poverello Medal
STEUBENVILLE — The international charitable organization Aid to the Church in Need will receive the Franciscan University of Steubenville Poverello Medal at a special ceremony to be held Oct. 11.
Aid to the Church in Need exemplifies the call of Christ to reach out to the persecuted, the suffering and the poorest of the poor, according to officials.
Chairman George J. Marlin will accept the award on behalf of his organization.
The Poverello Medal, which bears an image of St. Francis giving money to the poor, is Franciscan University’s highest non-academic award. It will be presented at a 7 p.m. ceremony in the Tony and Nina Gentile Gallery of the J.C. Williams Center.
The public is invited to the ceremony and registration is not necessary. A dessert reception will follow.
“Aid to the Church in Need reflects St. Francis’ great love of the poor and suffering,” said Franciscan University president the Rev. Sean O. Sheridan, TOR. “We are pleased to be awarding the Poverello Medal to an organization that has demonstrated such love and concern for the suffering Church.”
Aid to the Church in Need was founded in 1947, when Norbertine priest the Rev. Werenfried van Straaten began organizing relief efforts to aid the suffering German people. His description of Germany’s post-war plight touched countless hearts, and donations of food and clothing poured in from around the world, officials said.
In addition to providing the German people with material comfort, van Straaten recruited priests who could provide spiritual comfort as well, and launched a “Rucksack Priest” campaign, which sent priests out on motorbikes and Volkswagen Beetles to people still displaced by the war. Soon after, he also launched a Chapel Truck initiative, which used decommissioned army trucks as mobile chapels.
In the years that followed, van Straaten assisted religious communities serving in communist countries, built churches along the length of the Iron Curtain, and eventually reached out to all those being “tested in faith” around the world.
Today, with 17 national offices, Aid to the Church in Need continues to reach out to millions of poor, forgotten and persecuted faithful in 145 countries around the world, officials said.
Reflecting upon the contributions of Aid to the Church in Need, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI described it as “a gift of Providence for our time.” Later, in December 2011, he recognized the importance of the charity’s work by elevating it to a Pontifical Foundation of the Catholic Church.
The Poverello Medal, cast in steel to signify simplicity and poverty, acknowledges organizations and individuals who follow in the footsteps of St. Francis of Assisi, “Il Poverello” or the “little poor man”, through strong Christian character, practical charity and service to the poor.
Past recipients include St. Teresa of Calcutta, the Rev. Benedict Groeschel, CFR, and the Little Sisters of the Poor.
Information on the Poverello Award Ceremony is available by calling the Franciscan University Advancement Office at (800) 783-6447 or e-mail advancement@franciscan.edu.
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