Cuore Amico Award – Three missionaries, one heart to generate hope

The award, promoted by the Cuore Amico Fraternità ETS Association as part of the initiatives associated with World Mission Sunday, is presented each year to three missionaries: a priest, a religious man or woman, and a layperson. It consists of a plaque and a financial contribution intended to support their projects.

The recipients of the 36^th edition (2026) are Father Diego Dalle Carbonare, for Sudan, who is working to renovate and reopen Comboni College in Khartoum; Sister Beatrice Loda, for the Vanuatu Islands in Oceania, who is helping rebuild the Nabanga Foyer, destroyed by the 2024 earthquake; and laywoman Stefania Cremaschini, for Peru, where she supports healthcare services by providing medicines and purchasing medical equipment, including two ultrasound scanners and laboratory testing equipment.

The award aims to raise awareness of the Association’s many initiatives and to highlight the Church’s evangelising mission, expressed through proclamation and charity as an authentic service to the human person. The projects supported by the award thus also become places of evangelisation, capable of restoring trust and hope.

In their speeches, the three award recipients described how their missionary journeys had become a true school of life for each of them: the very people they had cared for had become their teachers in humanity and spirituality. Alongside their gratitude, all three expressed surprise and joy at receiving this recognition.

Their projects share a common goal: to generate hope through healthcare, education and school-based learning.

Father Dalle Carbonare’s testimony was particularly powerful. He drew attention to the dramatic situation facing Sudanese children, many of whom have been unable to attend school for three years. “School,” he emphasised, “is the true antidote to war.”

The conflict in Sudan fuels ethnic, religious and social divisions: between Arabs and Black people, Christians and Muslims, rich and poor. At school, however, especially among children, these differences can be overcome as they share games, food, joys and sorrows.

Sudan is beginning its recovery through education. Enrolment for the new school year is, in fact, far higher than expected—a tangible sign of confidence in the future.

The many people attending the ceremony welcomed the three missionaries’ testimonies and the presentation of the award with enthusiastic and prolonged applause.

Fr Gaetano Montresor, MCCJ