Irondale, 15 August, 2021 / 10:30 am (ACI Africa).
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., was honored as the first recipient of the annual Mother Angelica Award by the EWTN Global Catholic Network.
EWTN Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Michael P. Warsaw presented the inaugural award to Chaput during an Aug. 15 ceremony that was broadcast around the world by the Network. The date also marks the 40th anniversary of the Network’s launch on the Solemnity of the Assumption in 1981.
“This award was created as a way to recognize Mother Angelica and her legacy by honoring people who have devoted their lives in service to the Church, particularly in the service of the New Evangelization, just as Mother Angelica herself had done,” said Warsaw. “When we first proposed this award, there really was no one in my mind who was more deserving than Archbishop Chaput.”
The award was originally intended to be presented last year during an in-person event in Washington, D.C. Unfortunately, because of COVID, the event had to be cancelled. Instead the Network presented the award as part of a televised program transmitted to more than 380 million television households in 150 countries and territories, as well as across EWTN’s multiple digital and radio platforms.
Chaput, 76, retired in 2020 as archbishop of Philadelphia. Previously he had served as archbishop of Denver, and as bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota. The archbishop also recently stepped down from the Board of Governors of EWTN after 25 years of service, including 10 years of service as Vice Chairman. He frequently appeared with Mother Angelica on EWTN throughout the years and was the principal celebrant of her funeral Mass in 2016.