Aug 14 2023
Eminence/Excellency,
24 July 2023
To: Presidents of Episcopal Conferences
Prayerful greetings from the Diocese of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino!
I write to you concerning the International Award “Francis of Assisi and Carlo Acutis for an Economy of Fraternity,” which was instituted by this Diocese in 2021. This past May, on the Feast of the Sanctuary of Renunciation, where Saint Francis of Assisi renounced worldly riches and Blessed Carlo Acutis is buried, we were pleased to confer the Award of Euro 50,000 to Chad, one of the poorest nations in the world. The Award will support the project, “Bethléem, la maison du pain” (“Bethlehem, House of Bread”), a fraternal and economic initiative “from below”. 12 poor and needy young people from the village of Baïbokoum will work together, accompanied by the local Franciscan Angeline Sisters, to build and develop a bread making laboratory, placing their talents together and drawing on local resources in order to serve their community and provide for themselves and their families through dignified work.
The Award follows on from the winners of the last two years: in 2021, the Seraphic Institute in Assisi, which for over 150 years, has cared for the most disabled children and young adults, and in 2022, a project involving a group of unemployed and abandoned young people with disabilities in the Diocese of Pasig (Metropolitan Manila) in the Philippines, who presented a revolutionary technology to use water lilies to produce charcoal briquettes as a source of energy. A second project from Nigeria the “demo Farm of Francesco” – also received a substantial monetary recognition for the creativity of young people to combat desertification by cultivating the land in a sustainable way.
These are examples of what we mean by an “Economy of fraternity.”
I ask your kind assistance to make known this initiative, so much in line with the teachings of the Encyclicals Laudato si and Fratelli tutti of Pope Francis, to the Bishops in your jurisdiction, religious congregations, missionaries and other interested parties, and to encourage their participation. On the site www.francescoassisicarloacutisaward.com, you will find a brief video of past project winners and all details for the new edition being launched for 2023/24. Thanks to the generosity of benefactors, the prize will again be a maximum of Euro 50,000 that is intended to reflect charity that is “generative,” and not merely “welfare assistance”. Once again, this will be conferred next May 2024 here in Assisi to a specific project, initiated at the grassroots level, by persons, entities or societies, who come together and design a project to care for the most disadvantaged in their communities, especially in the poorest regions of the world.
Attached you will find the relative application form(s) for your jurisdiction and details of the application process, which includes a grid of nine criteria for the presentation of projects. The website also contains the full Statute of the Award and the forms in various languages. The closing date for submission of applications is 31 December 2023.
Please be certain that I am at your complete disposal to provide any further clarification and information. I thank you most sincerely and assure you of my prayer from this holy city.
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