austraLasia #2502

Prestigious international award for Fr Charles Velardo, Thailand

ROME: 16th September 2009 -- The St Matthew Foundation, set up in memory of Cardinal Francis Xavier Nguyen Van Thuan has today, 16th September, awarded the Van Thuan Solidarity and Development Prize, 2009 to Fr Charles Velardo, long-time Salesian Missionary in Thailand, and Director (amongst other things) of the Skills Development Centre for the Blind, Pakkred, Thailand.
    The St Matthew Foundation was set up by the Vatican in 2007. It is tied in directly with the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.  It aims to foster initiatives which strengthen the Church's presence in various areas in society today, either by study and spreading the Church's social teaching (formation of young people to values of justice and peace) or by initiatives which are aimed at humanitarian work in developing countries, on behalf of the poor.
    Just three other humanitarian projects worldwide have been selected for award this year: the COMIS project which builds churches in developing countries, the ALAS project in Colombia, a Catholic national centre for prison ministry, and finally the 'Le Rocher' Association in France, which carries our social and educational work to help prevent young people living on the streets in the sensitive areas of large French cities.
    The Grand Van Thuan Award 2009 goes to the Grand Duke Henri of Luxemburg, for his work with various Foundations of a humanitarian and social bent.
    All award recipients will meet Pope Benedict XVI in audience on Thursday morning at Castel Gandolfo.
    This is by no means the first award for Fr Velardo.  In 2006 he received the distnguished Thai Royal award, the Gold Medal of the Most Admirable Order of the Direkgunabhorn. Early 2008 he received the "Outstanding Person in the Field of Disability" award for contribution given to the betterment of the quality of life of the disabled of Thailand.
    You could read up on Fr Velardo's work by going to http://sdl.sdb.org, choosing the 'austraLasia' collection and typing in 'Pakkred' in the search box.

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Title: australasia 2502
Subject and key words: EAO Provinces Fr Charles Velardo, Thuan Award
Date (year): 2009
ID: 2000-2099|2502