Local
Cheverus Medals to be awarded Nov. 22

By Jim Lockwood
Posted: 11/13/2009

The Cheverus Medal Pilot file photo/Gregory L. Tracy

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BOSTON -- On the Feast of Christ the King, Nov. 22, Cardinal Seán P. O’Malley will preseent Cheverus Medals to over 100 men and women throughout the Archdiocese of Boston who use their talents in service to the Church, according to Father Jonathan Gaspar, Secretary to the Cardinal. Medals will be given out at the Celebration of Evening Prayer at 3 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross.

Recipients nominated by the auxiliary bishops and pastors of the archdiocese for their service to the Church and God’s people and chosen by Cardinal O’Malley.

“There are so many people across the archdiocese who lend their time and talents, who pray for the Catholic Church, and who serve in so many of the Church’s activities, and so many who advance the mission of the archdiocese through financial contributions,” said Scot Landry, the archdiocese’s Secretary for Institutional Advancement. “Recipients are worthy of recognition, but (are) also inspirations to so many across the archdiocese. I’m glad that the Archdiocese of Boston has the Cheverus Awards as a vehicle to recognize fellow Catholics who reach out in service to the Church every year.”

The medal is named for the archdiocese’s first bishop, Jean-Louis Anne Magdelaine Lefebvre de Cheverus, who led the diocese from 1808 until his return to France in 1824. Bishop Cheverus died in 1836 as the archbishop of Bordeaux.

This year marks the second year these medals will be awarded. The tradition was started last year during the closing Mass of the bicentennial of the archdiocese.