Benemerenti medal

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The Benemerenti medal was instituted by Pope Gregory XVI in 1832 and is conferred on those who have exhibited long and exceptional service to the Catholic Church, their families and community. The word benemerenti (to a well deserving person) is on the back of the medal, surrounded by a crown of oak leaves; the ribbon is made of Papal colours, yellow and white.

In 1925, the concept of awarding this medal as a mark of recognition to persons in service of the Church, both civil and military, lay and clergy alike, became acceptable.

Recipients

Awarded by Pope Pius XII

• Pope Pius XII awarded Paulus Francisicus Michael Antonius Zammit 1948 the Benemerenti Medal in recognition of building the Church of St. Paul amidst the canefields of Bartle Frere in North Queensland, Australia.
• Pope Pius XII awarded Maria Augusta von Trapp 1949 the medal as a recognition for the Trapp Family Austrian Relief Inc., which is an aid programme for depressed Austrians.

Awarded by Pope John XXIII

• Pope John XXIII awarded the medal to Mary Synon, PhD in Classical Studies, professor at American University, lecturer at Catholic University, Pulitzer Prize winner, and National Book Award winner, as well as human rights activist, in 1961.

Awarded by Pope Paul VI

• Pope Paul VI awarded Catherine O'Brien the medal in 1974 for services to Saint Dominics Church and parish Romford, Essex.
• Pope Paul VI awarded the medal to Edward Flannery.
• Pope Paul VI awarded Diana McKenzie the Benemerneti medal in 1978 in Lynn Lake, Manitoba for work with Saint Maria Goretti Catholic Church.

Awarded by Pope John Paul II

• Pope John Paul II awarded the medal to Paddy Crosbie in 1979
• Pope John Paul II awarded Peter Joseph Wire the medal on 6th December 1985 for services to the Archdiocese of Birmingham at Besford Court School.
• Pope John Paul II awarded the medal to Joseph Lawrence Clery 1993 Papal Award MCMXC111 also past Grand Knight of Columbus.
• Pope John Paul II awarded medal to Gerard O'Donnell formally of Bathgate, West Lothian when he retired as headmaster of a school in Leicester, in 1990, for his services to Catholic education.
• Pope John Paul II awarded Patricia Vincent Stockley for Services to the Catholic Church, which was presented to her in front of her grandson Brendon Wordsworth at St. Thomas More Catholic Church, Mt. Maunganui, New Zealand.
• Pope John Paul II awarded Catherine Ann Cline 1995 medal.
• Pope John Paul II awarded Leonard "Bud" Colburn 1995 Medal for Services to Holy Innocents Church Opington and Ecumenical Services to St Katharines Church Knockholt Kent
• Pope John Paul II awarded Rita Gray the medal for Services to Education.
• Pope John Paul II awarded James J Coniglio 1999 medal.
• Pope John Paul II awarded Arthur Eden 2000 medal.
• Pope John Paul II awarded Mario Kreutzberger 2002 medal.
• Pope John Paul II awarded Graham Loudon 2005 medal.

Awarded by Pope Benedict XVI

• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Hugh Gerard McGrellis in 2005/6 for a lifetime of service to the Church, most notably as an altar server at St Mary Magdalen's Church, Brighton for over 70 years.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded John McCreadie 2007 medal for "Services to the retired clergy of the Diocese of Middlesbrough".
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Richard Gladwell 2009 medal.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Charles John Foote of St. George's Newfoundland, the bene merenti medal for over 50 years service to the parish of St. Joseph's. The award was presented at St. Joseph's Church in St. George's on 3 May 2009 by Bishop Douglas Crosbie, Bishop of the Diocese of Corner Brook and Labrador.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Michael Madden Cork, Ireland 2008 medal in recognition of his outstanding service during his 23 years as sacristan of St. Joseph's Church, Riverstick, Cork.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Paul Lyng 2009 medal in recognition of 33 years service as sacristan of Church of the Assumption in Booterstown, County Dublin. It was presented by Mgr. Seamus Conway PP on May 29th, 2009.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Joe Lomasney 2009 medal in recognition of 53 years service as sacristan of Church of the Immaculate Conception, Araglen in the Diocese of Cloyne, Ireland. It was presented by Most Rev. John Magee, Bishop of Cloyne.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded John Parnell Murphy 2009 medal in recognition of long -time service to the People of God of the Diocese of Brooklyn, New York. It was presented on 7 June 2009 by Most Rev. Nicholas DiMarzio, Bishop of Brooklyn.
• Bishop Eamonn Walsh presented the medal on 21 June 2009 to Eddie Power who had been in charge of the altar server group at St. Pius X Church in Templeogue, Dublin since 1974.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded medal to Barbara Conboy, Brigid Hanlon, and John McManus for services to Sacred Heart Jesuit Church, Edinburgh, Scotland, on 31 July 2009.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded the 2009 medal to Ada Power, on 13 February for services to the Killaloe Diocese.
• Cardinal Thomas Winning presented the medal on behalf of Pope John Paul II to Mrs. Brenda Scott ALCM in March, 2000.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded the medal to Tony McAvoy for his work as a Lay Chaplain in the North East with the Apostleship of the Sea (Stella Maris). The medal was presented to him by Seamus Cunningham, Bishop of Newcastle and Hexham Diocese, on 8 July 2009 at the AoS Annual Pilgrimage to Holy Island, Lindisfarne.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Patrick Curran the 2009 medal in recognition of 60 years service to the parish of Our Lady Star of The Sea, Greenwich. It was presented by Bishop Patrick of Southwark on 4 October 2009.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Tony Wagstaffe the 2009 medal in recognition of service to the parish of Holy Angels, Ash, Surrey Greenwich. It was presented by Father David Osbourne, on 12 December 2009.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded the 2009 medal to Joseph Ryan for 30 years of service as Parish Accountant, and other services, to St. Elphege's Church, Wallington, Surrey. The medal was presented by Bishop Paul Hendricks on 20 December 2009.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded the medal to Dennis Selina for a lifetime of service to the Church, including 69 years as church organist. The medal was presented on 10 January 2010 at St. Joseph's Church, Pickering, by Fr. Bill East.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Mr. Oscar Pioquinto Batucan and Mrs. Miriam Alvez Batucan the medal and was presented by Auckland Bishop Patrick Dunn on 17 January 2010. This was the first time that a Filipino-New Zealand couple was awarded.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded the medal to Peggy Wilding and Olive Hewitt who respectively received the medal at St. Theodore of Canterbury Church, Monkwick, Colchester on 27th April 2008. Both Mrs Wilding and Mrs Hewitt have served over forty years in the Catholic Church holding posts such as Chairman and Secretary of the Church Committee as well as being lifelong servants to the Church, and even organising the building of the Church in the 1960's.
• Mr Donald H Williams, of Culloden Inverness, received the medal in St. Columbas Church, Culloden Inverness. It was presented by Bishop Peter Moran of Aberdeen, Scotland on 2 May 2010.
• Mr John Bannerman of Invergordon, Ross-Shire, received the medal in St. Joseph's Church, Invergordon. It was presented by Bishop Peter Moran of Aberdeen, Scotland on 19 March 2010, in recognition of 72 years service to the Catholic Church as an altar server, reader, passkeeper and Eucharistic minister.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Michael M.F. Kummer, Stuttgart, Germany , the 2010 medal in recognition of his outstanding service during more than 25 years for the Catholic military communities in different countries and especially to the German-speaking parish , Sankt Marien, in Bangkok, Thailand.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded the medal to Mr Thomas F. Purcell, Hamilton, New Zealand. Presented the medal by Bishop Denis Browne of Hamilton Dioceses on 9 June 2010 at St. Columba's Parish, Hamilton.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Mrs Colleen Stanford, Sacristan, St. Mary's Cathedral, Hobart Tasmania. Presented by Archbishop Adrian Doyle in October 2009.
• Peggy Moriarty received the medal on 12 June 2010 from the Bishop of Kerry, Dr. Bill Murphy, at the Milltown-Listry where Peggy is a parishioner. She received the award for the time spent looking after the Immaculate Conception in Listry.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded the medal to John Wedgwood of the Parish of St. John the Baptist, in Normanton, West Yorkshire, England, for 72 years of service as organist, school headteacher and several other roles. The medal was presented by Canon Peter Maguire on 4 July 2010.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded medals to Sheila Miller, Elizabeth Turner, and Ann Hamilton during a mass held at St. Anthony of Padua, Rye, East Sussex on 15 August 2010. The medals were presented by Bishop Kieran and were awarded in recognition of long and exceptional service to the Parish, stretching almost 80 years.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Dr. Matthew Yu Min-Teh the medal on 12 July 2010 for his exceptional Christian commitment and leadership during his presidency at Providence University, Taichung, Taiwan. The medal was presented by Taichung Bishop Martin Su Yao-Wen on 15 September 2010.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded David Risk the medal on 7 November 2010 for years of dedication to the St. Charles Borromeo parish. The Medal was presented by Cardinal Mahony.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Patricia Mundy and Joe Davies the medal on 4 September 2010 presented on behalf of the Bishop of Shrewsbury Diocese, England by Parish Priest Father Stephen Dwyer, assisted by Papal Knight Peter Smith K.S.G., who presented the medal. Joe Davies was awarded the medal for his years of devoted service to the priests of the parish; Patrica for her 19 years of service as a voluntary worker as Manager of Parish Centre and her years of Service to St. Joseph's Parish Winsford in Cheshire.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded Mary O'Donoghue the medal on 11 December 2010 presented on behalf of the Bishop of Westminster Diocese, England by Parish Priest of Our Lady of the Holy Souls, Kensal New Town, Father Shaun Church. It was awarded for years of dedication to the parish over 31 years.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded the medal to Miss Mary Burn-Murdoch in recognition of her work in founding the Colmcille Trust and establishing the Catholic House of Prayer Cnoc a' Chalmain on the Isle of Iona, Scotland. The medal was presented to Mary by Bishop Joseph Toal during Mass at St Joseph's, Gilmore Place, Edinburgh on Monday 27th December 2010.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded the medal to "Lady Nora Mai Daly" of Gortdarrig Headford County Kerry Ireland for her 32 years as sacristan to Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Catholic Church Shrone. The Medal was presented by Bishop Bill Murphy at a vigil Mass at Shrone church on January 5th 2011. Father Larry Kelly & Father Micheal O'Connor also precided.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded the medal to Mrs Anne Culleton of Piercestown in Wexford, Ireland, in recognition of a lifetime of contribution to community and parish life in Piercestown. The medal was presented to Anne by Bishop Dennis Brennan during Mass at St Martins Church in Piercestown on Sunday 8th January 2011.
• Pope Benedict XVI awarded medals to "Sr. Agnes Murray" and "Sr. Maura Fay", Ballymahon, Co Longford, Ireland in recognition of their contribution to music and singing in the liturgy over many years in the Parish of Shrule, (Ballymahon). The medals were presented to Sr. Agnes and Sr. Maura by the Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois, Dr. Colm O' Reilly during Mass at St. Matthew's Church, Ballymahon on Sunday 30th January 2011.