Pacem in Terris Peace Award

Pacem in Terris Peace & Freedom Award

The Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award is an annual Catholic peace prize established in 1964 to honor individuals whose work advances peace and justice worldwide, regardless of religious affiliation. It commemorates Pope John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical Pacem in terris (“Peace on Earth”). The award originated in 1963 with the Davenport Catholic Interracial Council in Iowa and, since 1976, has been presented by the Quad Cities Pacem in Terris Coalition, representing communities in Iowa and Illinois. By 2010, its sponsors included the Diocese of Davenport, St. Ambrose University, Augustana College, Churches United of the Quad-Cities, Pax Christi, The Catholic Messenger, several religious congregations, and the Muslim Community of the Quad Cities.

Sl	Name	Country	Year	Awarded For
54	Silvio José Báez Ortega	Nicaragua	2025	for his advocacy for justice and peace in Nicaragua.
53	Chad Pregracke	United States	2024	for his environmental work
52	Sheryl Olitzky	United States	2023	"for her vision and commitment to creating relationships based on shared values between Muslim and Jewish Women."
51	Atiya Aftab	United States	2023	"for her vision and commitment to creating relationships based on shared values between Muslim and Jewish Women."
50	Norma Pimentel	United States	2022	"for her dedication to serving asylum seekers as executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in the Brownsville Diocese in Texas."
49	Munib Younan	Palestine	2019	for having "committed to cultivating peace by building bridges among religions."
48	Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama)	China	2019	for having "worked tirelessly for peace and justice and advocates for human dignity for all in Asia."
47	Widad Akrawi	Iraq	2017	for having "cofounded the human rights organization, Defend International."
46	Gustavo Gutiérrez	Peru	2016	"recognized as a prominent figure in Latin American Catholicism with his book A Theology on Liberation led many to view him as the founder of liberation theology."
45	Thích Nhất Hạnh	Vietnam	2015	"honored for his lifelong commitment to peace and for his inspired, dedicated work to bridge Eastern and Western spiritual traditions."
44	Simone Campbell	United States	2014	for having "organized the "Nuns on the Bus" Campaign in 2012 that riveted the nation's attention. She is the driving force for programs and policies that support faith, families and fairness."
43	Jean Vanier	Canada	2013	for having "founded L’Arche, an international, faith-based federation of communities where people with and without intellectual disabilities share life together."
42	Kim Bobo	United States	2012	for having "educated a nation about the prevalence of wage theft and injustice that disproportionately affects the poor amongst us."
41	Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri	Guatemala	2011	"for his continuing efforts on behalf of Guatemala's most vulnerable communities, the indigenous people of Guatemala."
40	John Dear	United States	2010	for having "delivered the message of the nonviolent Jesus in word and deed in confronting nuclear arms manufacturing and use."
39	Hildegard Goss-Mayr	Austria	2009	"one of the world's leading experts on nonviolence, a teacher, visionary and pioneer who helped forge a new path toward peace on earth for all humanity."
38	Marvin Mottet	United States	2008	for having "devoted his life to walking the two feet of social action: direct service and social justice."
37	Salim Ghazal	Lebanon	2007	for having "worked with Muslims and Christians to promote reconciliation, peace and hope for young people and others displaced by Lebanon's civil war."
36	Donald Mosley	United States	2005	for having "served others by offering hospitality to refugees, housing for the homeless and mediation to situations of war."
35	Arthur Simon	United States	2004	for having "shown how one person can make a difference alleviating world hunger."
34	Dorothy Hennessey	United States	2002	for having "devoted their lives and ministry to local activism on global issues of peace and justice."
33	Gwen Hennessey	United States	2002	for having "devoted their lives and ministry to local activism on global issues of peace and justice."
32	Lech Wa??sa	Poland	2001	for having "become a global leader for freedom and democracy."
31	George G. Higgins	United States	2000	for having "wove together communities of faith and organized labor to support economic justice."
30	Adolfo Pérez Esquivel	Argentina	1999	for having "inspired the world with his Gospel-rooted work on behalf of Argentina's 'disappeared ones.'"
29	Helen Prejean	United States	1998	"through her loving presence on death row has fostered reconciliation and spiritual healing."
28	Shelley Douglass	United States	1997	for having "been steadfast in their efforts to build a world of peace based on justice."
27	James W. Douglass	United States	1997	for having "been steadfast in their efforts to build a world of peace based on justice."
26	Samuel Ruiz	Mexico	1996	for having "lent great courage to his fight against violence and injustice inflicted against the poor and oppressed of Chiapas, Mexico."
25	Jim Wallis	Ireland	1995	for having " brought people of faith to espouse radical social engagement."
24	Daniel Berrigan	United States	1993	for having "offered powerful witness on behalf of peace and justice."
23	Cesar Chavez	United States	1992	for having "become a passionate voice for workers who have long been disenfranchised."
22	María Julia Hernández	El Salvador	1991	for having "directed the Human Rights Committee and spoke for the victims of the long civil war in El Salvador."
21	Mairead Maguire	United States	1990	for having "become a global force against violence in the name of religion."
20	Eileen Egan	United States	1989	"through her work with Pax Christi and Catholic Relief Services addressed the world's problems through missionary zeal and creative nonviolence."
19	Desmond Tutu	South Africa	1987	for having "helped free South Africa from the yoke of apartheid, teaching the entire world that racial injustice is sacrilege."
18	Maurice John Dingman	United States	1986	"through his love for the land worked for peace and justice and reminded all of us of our roots in the soil."
17	Joseph Bernardin	United States	1985	"through his notion of the consistent ethic of life and the seamless garment taught us that all life is God-given and therefore precious."
16	Helen Caldicott	United States	1983	for having " spoken on behalf of the world's children in the face of possible nuclear holocaust."
15	George F. Kennan	United States	1982	for having "realized that the only hope for solving the world's problems lies in abandoning violence."
14	Ernest Leo Unterkoefler	United States	1980	for having "advocated for the rights of workers and helped to buoy the labor movement among the poor in Appalachia."
13	Crystal Lee Sutton	United States	1980	for having "organized labor in the South and reminded us that equal work demands equal pay."
12	Thomas Gumbleton	United States	1979	for having "challenged church leadership to embrace nonviolence instead of the just war theory."
11	Mother Teresa	India	1976	who "gave hope to the desperate and offered light to those living in abject poverty."
10	Hélder Câmara	Brazil	1975	as "gentle shepherd of the poor of northwestern Brazil, who embraced the impoverished and gave sharp prophecy to the wealthy."
9	Harold Hughes	United States	1974	for having "brought the message of the Gospel to the cause of equal education, civil rights and opposition to capital punishment."
8	Dorothy Day	United States	1972	for having "founded the Catholic Worker Movement and reminded us to look for Christ in the faces of the poor."
7	Saul Alinsky	United States	1969	for having "taught people how to organize and to act together in promoting justice in society."
6	James Groppi	United States	1968	for "waking people to the injustice of unfair housing and racial prejudice in Milwaukee."
5	A. Philip Randolph	United States	1967	for his "efforts to organize railway employees convinced us that the dignity of work must be rewarded with a just wage."
4	Sargent Shriver	United States	1966	for having "taught us that one person can indeed make a difference."
3	Martin Luther King	United States	1965	for having "challenged us to dream of a world transformed through nonviolent civil rights activism."
2	John F. Kennedy	United States	1964	for having "awakened in us a hope that no problem was too great to conquer — race relations, violence or poverty — when citizens work together" (posthumously awarded)
1	John Howard Griffin	United States	1964	for his "powerful book, Black Like Me, which has showed us how we are too often judged not by the content of our character but by the color of our skin."

Pacem in Terris Peace & Freedom Award

Pacem in Terris Peace & Freedom Award

Pacem in Terris Peace & Freedom Award Laureates (2030 ~ 2021)

Silvio José Báez Ortega

Chad Pregracke

Sheryl Olitzky

Atiya Aftab

Norma Pimentel

Pacem in Terris Peace & Freedom Award Laureates (2020 ~ 2011)

Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso)

Munib Younan

Widad Akrawi

Gustavo Gutiérrez

Thích Nhất Hạnh

Simone Campbell

Jean Vanier

Kim Bobo

Álvaro Leonel Ramazzini Imeri

Pacem in Terris Peace & Freedom Award Laureates (2010 ~ 2001)

John Dear

Hildegard Goss-Mayr

Marvin Mottet

Salim Ghazal

Donald Mosley

Arthur Simon

Dorothy Hennessey

Gwen Hennessey

Lech Wałęsa

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