The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, presented Father Jacques Hamel’s 2023 Award during the Days of St. Francis de Sales, held in Lourdes (France).

Since 2018, this Award has recognized journalistic work that has made an extraordinary contribution to peace.

This recognition aims to highlight the memory of the French priest Jacques Hamel, who was assassinated in 2016 while celebrating Mass in the church of St. Etienne du Rouvray in the Normandy region.

The Cardinal presented the edition of this Award in the presence of Roselyne Hamel, the sister of Fr. Jacques, who spreads the testimony of faith passed on to her by her brother.

The winner of this year’s Award was the journalist Christophe Chaland for his article “752 days held hostage by the mujahideen”, which recounts the testimony of the Italian priest Pier Luigi Maccalli, published in Le Pèlerin on September 29, 2022.

Previously, the Secretary of State delivered a speech in French in which he stressed the importance of “Vatican diplomacy for peace,” which prioritizes the promotion of solutions favoring “reconciliation” and “peace education.”

The 2023 St. Francis de Sales Days brought together 230 journalists from 25 countries who addressed the theme “How to be heard? Great Catholic voices respond”.

In the opening session, the prefect of the Dicastery for Communication, Paolo Ruffini, invited journalists to “go beyond appearances” to see, listen and “speak with the heart,” as Pope Francis wrote in his message for World Communications Day 2023.

Then, the Vatican authority underlined the importance of the search for truth that “requires humility” and encouraged them to respond with courage to the challenge of “authentic freedom.”

“The humble journalist seeks to know the facts completely correctly before publishing… he does not build stereotypes, he does not look for scapegoats,” Ruffini stressed.