STEUBENVILLE, OH—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 on Tuesday, October 11, 2016.

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. 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 7:00 p.m. ceremony in the Tony and Nina Gentile Gallery of the J.C. Williams Center. The public is invited; registration is not necessary. A dessert reception will follow.

In response to this sharp rise in Christian persecution, George J. Marlin will speak on “The Tragedy of Christian Persecutions in the Middle East” during the Poverello Medal ceremony.

“A Middle East without Christians, holy places not surrounded by a living Christian community, would turn the region into a museum of Christianity. It would become a ‘Church of stones,’ in the ominous words of Pope Paul VI,” Marlin writes in his book Christian Persecutions in the Middle East, published in 2015. “Are we witnessing the final act of Christianity’s long decline in the very place where it was born?”

Aid to the Church in Need was founded in 1947, when Norbertine priest Father 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.

In addition to providing the German people with material comfort, Father 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, Father 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. Each year, they fulfill more than 5,000 projects through spiritual and material aid programs. Their shared goal: “To help support the Church in its mission, and bringing hope and solidarity to millions of people.”

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.

“Aid to the Church in Need reflects St. Francis’ great love of the poor and suffering,” said Franciscan University president Father 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.”

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” (the little poor man), through strong Christian character, practical charity, and service to the poor. Past recipients include St. Teresa of Calcutta, Father Benedict Groeschel, CFR, and the Little Sisters of the Poor.

For more information on the Poverello Award Ceremony, contact the Franciscan University Advancement Office at 800-783-6447 or email [email protected].