January 30, 2013

Ten noted humanitarians to visit Marquette Feb 4-8

Recipients of Opus Prize to meet with students and participate in public events

MILWAUKEE – Marquette University will host the past 10 recipients of the $1 million Opus Prize for faith-based social entrepreneurship Feb. 4-8, as part of the university’s annual Mission Week.

The week is highlighted by a keynote program where, for the first time, all past Opus Prize recipients will be interviewed together Thursday, Feb. 7, 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Varsity Theatre, 1324 W. Wisconsin Ave. Tickets for the free, public program are available on a first-come, first-served basis in the Brooks Lounge of the Alumni Memorial Union, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave. Details on other public events featuring the Opus Prize guests are available online.

The Opus Prize is awarded annually and recognizes faith-based social entrepreneurship and is celebrating its 10th anniversary of supporting humanitarian work around the globe in 2013.

The 10 Opus Prize recipients are:

• 2012 – Father Richard Frechette, C.P., who helped found the St. Luke Foundation in Haiti, which provides education, health care and humanitarian outreach.

• 2011 – Lyn Lusi, who with her husband, founded the HEAL Africa Hospital that addresses the physical, social and spiritual needs of its patients. Lusi, who passed away from cancer in 2012, will be represented by her husband, Dr. Jo Lusi, and her daughter, Nadine Lusi.

• 2010 – Sr. Beatrice Chipeta founded the Lusubilo Orphan Care Project in Malawi, serving thousands of children who have been orphaned in the area’s rural villages. Sister Beatrice is unable to attend and will be represented by Peter Daino.

• 2010 – Rev. John Halligan, S.J., of the Working Boys’ Center, which has worked to develop a comprehensive approach to lift families up and out of poverty in Quito, Ecuador.

• 2009 – Aїcha Ech Channa is the founder and president of the Association Solidarité Féminine, an organization serving single mothers in Casablanca, Morocco.

• 2008 – Marguerite “Maggy” Barankitse, founder of Maison Shalom, is dedicate to improving the conditions for children while enhancing the lives of all Burundians.

• 2007 – Brother Stan Goetschalckx, F.C., is founder and director of the AHADI International Institute in Tanzania, which educates refugees from the war-torn countries of Congo, Rwanda and Burundi.

• 2006 – Dr. Zilda Arns Neumann, who created Pastoral da Criança, a network of volunteers and community leaders dedicated to addressing family issues among the poor in Brazil and Latin America.  Neumann, who lost her life in the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, will be represented by her son, Dr. Nelson Neumann.

• 2005 – Rev. Trevor Miranda, S.J., founded and runs a system of 450 one-room schools known as the Reach Education Action Programme, located in India’s most populous and poverty stricken areas.

• 2004 – Monsignor Richard Albert, who since 1976 has served the people of Jamaica by opening a variety of self-help programs and vast network of charities and institutions including community centers, schools and soup kitchens on the island country.  

The Opus Prize Foundation
The Opus Prize is given annually to recognize unsung heroes of any faith tradition, anywhere in the world, solving today’s most persistent social problems. This $1 million faith-based humanitarian award and two $100,000 awards are collectively one of the world’s largest faith-based, humanitarian awards for social innovation. Prize winners combine an entrepreneurial spirit with an abiding faith to combat seemingly intractable global issues like poverty, illiteracy, hunger, disease and injustice.

Marquette is one of nine universities that the Opus Prize Foundation has partnered with to organize and execute the Opus Prize selection process and award ceremony. The partnership is meant to challenge students to think globally and to inspire them to live lives of service.

Mission Week
For additional information and a full schedule of events, visit the Mission Week website. In addition, Raynor Memorial Libraries is offering an online Mission Week research guide, which provides information and resources highlighting the work of Opus Prize-winning guest speakers, Jesuit education and Catholic social teaching, faith and decision making, and Ignatian spirituality.

President Scott R. Pilarz, S.J., will preside and Opus Prize recipient Rev. Trevor Miranda, S.J., will deliver the homily at the Mission Week Mass, Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 4 p.m. in Church of the Gesu. The Opus Prize guests will attend the liturgy, at which Jesuit martyr St. Paul Miki of Japan will be remembered. A reception in the Lower Church will follow.

Media wishing to attend any of the Mission Week events should contact Andy Brodzeller in the Office of Marketing and Communication at (414) 288-0286 or andrew.brodzeller@marquette.edu.