Archdiocese of Baltimore brings back medals of honor

Medals of Honor that highlight the work of clergy and lay people in the Archdiocese of Baltimore will return with 12 people being recognized for liturgy, evangelization, education, service and stewardship.

In the past, the Archdiocesan Medal of Honor was given occasionally. The awards this year will be conferred at the archdiocesan gala to be held April 22 at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in Baltimore.

The gala is also making a comeback since it was last held in the fall of 2019 before the COVID pandemic interrupted the event for the last few years. The gala will now become a biennial event in the spring.

Medal of Honor categories were developed to align with Archbishop William E. Lori’s pastoral letter, “A Light Brightly Visible 2.0,” his January 2021 update on his first pastoral letter from 2105 on evangelization-based parish pastoral planning.

According to a release from the archdiocese, the six medals recognize important work in supporting the five pillars of the archdiocesan mission statement: liturgy, evangelization, education, service and stewardship. The gala’s theme, “Shine the Light,” also refers to the archbishop’s appeal in his pastoral letter for each Catholic to shine the light of Christ.

Yvonne Wenger, Director of Community Affairs for the archdiocese and chairperson of the nomination committee, said choosing this year’s recipients was not an easy task. 

“The committee was positively overwhelmed with the number and quality of nominees,” she said. “We are truly blessed to have so many parishioners and clergy doing powerful, life-changing work in our parishes and our communities. This gala and these medals can hardly begin to recognize all of the exciting ways we see God’s work in communities throughout the archdiocese.”

More than 70 nominations were submitted by a diverse group of people from across the archdiocese during the nomination process that began in January. An internal nomination committee comprised of representatives from a variety of ministries reviewed all nominations and submitted their recommendations to Archbishop Lori, who personally notified each of the honorees. 

The medals will be named for trailblazing Catholics from the early history of the archdiocese as well as more recent decades. 

The Neumann-Valenzano Medal – named for St. John Neumann, the only male U.S. citizen to be canonized, and Monsignor Arthur Valenzano, a pastor of several parishes in the archdiocese who died of cancer in 2015 – will be given to a pastor who exemplifies what it means to build a vibrant faith community. This year’s honoree is Father Francis Ouma, whose pastoral outreach led St. Patrick Parish in Havre de Grace out of the pandemic, with a tremendous increase in service, stewardship and pastoral care for a growing congregation. 

The Dubourg-Pacione Award is named after Sulpician Father Louis Dubourg, one-time president of Georgetown University in the late 1700s, and Mark Pacione, who was influential in youth ministry and strategic planning in the archdiocese. The award recognizes lay people who have greatly impacted the work of evangelization. This year’s recipients are Dr. Joseph C. Orlando and Gilbert A. Hoffman Sr., who were instrumental in the founding of the Catholic Men’s Fellowship of Maryland more than 25 years ago. 

The Seton-Sellinger Award is named after St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, known as the founder of the parochial school system in America; Jesuit Father Joseph A. Sellinger, president of what is now Loyola University Maryland from 1964 to 1993; and Jim Sellinger, former chancellor of education for the archdiocese. The award recognizes an individual who has shown great leadership in the ministry of Catholic education. This year’s honoree is School Sister of Notre Dame Delia Dowling, who was instrumental in the founding of Sisters Academy, an all-girls Catholic middle school in Baltimore. She has served as the school’s inaugural president since 2004. 

The Joubert-Miller Award is named after Father James H. Joubert, cofounder of the Oblate Sisters of Providence, and Monsignor Edward Miller, longtime pastor of St. Bernardine Parish in West Baltimore, to recognize people who have stood in solidarity with underserved and underrepresented communities of faith. There are five honorees this year, including Sherita Thomas, who has chaired the archdiocese’s Coordinating Committee on Racial Justice since its founding in 2020. The other four honorees – Deacon Edison Morales, Jose G. Ramirez, Carlos Arias and Jose Ezequiel Melo – worked as a team at their parish, Sacred Heart of Jesus/Sagrado Corazón de Jesús in Highlandtown, to help the Hispanic population of southeast Baltimore during the COVID-19 pandemic. They helped thousands of families receive the food, vaccines, testing and other services needed, often collaborating with local healthcare and nonprofit institutions.

The Lange-Mortel Award is named after Mother Mary Lange, the founder of the Oblate Sisters of Providence who established the first school in the country for Black children, and Deacon Rodrigue Mortel, a medical doctor who served as director of the archdiocesan Missions Office and established schools in his native Haiti. The award recognizes an individual who exemplifies innovation and entrepreneurship in Catholic social ministries. The 2023 recipient, Kelly Obermayer, serves as executive director of Mary’s Home of Maryland, where her entrepreneurial spirit continues to seek different ways to support young mothers in need.

The O’Neill-Baldwin Award is named for Thomas J. O’Neill, a Baltimore business leader and philanthropist, and Thomas and Peggy Baldwin; it recognizes an individual whose “sincere and generous charity” bears witness to Christ. The honorees, Walter and Diane Conolley, have offered their time, talent and treasure in a variety of ways in the broader community to help various ministries of the church, including the Towson University Newman Center. 

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