Every year, in the mountain village of San Pietro della Ienca in Italy, a festival dedicated to St. John Paul II is held, organized by the cultural association San Pietro della Ienca. This year was no different. In an atmosphere filled with gratitude and peace, on Sunday, August 3, in this charming town at the foot of Gran Sasso d’Italia, the 24th International Award “La Stele della Ienca” was presented. This award is given to individuals and institutions distinguished for their contributions to peace and spirituality.
In this year’s edition, coinciding with the Jubilee Year 2025, the laureate was the Holy See. The award was presented for “its exceptional role and determination on the international stage in promoting peace and spiritual support for millions of the faithful around the world.”
For the celebration of the solemn Eucharist at the Sanctuary of St. John Paul II and the Borgo San Pietro della Ienca (the first sanctuary of St. John Paul II in Europe) and to receive the award, the Secretariat of State of the Holy See delegated His Eminence Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz, secretary of St. John Paul II, Metropolitan of Krakow from 2005 to 2016, and a member of our Foundation.
The ceremonies were also attended by His Eminence Cardinal Giuseppe Petrocchi, senior Archbishop of L’Aquila. Present were also two Vatican gendarmes who accompanied John Paul II during his travels: Egildo Biocca and Massimo Illuminati.
The event was also a tribute to the late Pasquale Corriere, founder of the “San Pietro della Ienca” association and initiator of the “La Stele della Ienca” award. Thanks to the association he founded in 1999, this small place at the foot of Gran Sasso has become a symbol of spirituality, devotion, and memory of the Pope, as well as a site of pilgrimages and cultural events. During the ceremony, presided over by Augusto Ciciotti, it was announced that the new chairperson of the association, succeeding the late founder, is his daughter, Franca Corrieri. The vice-chairman is Natalino Monopoli, president of the Giovanni Paolo II Association in Bisceglie and a personal friend of Corriere.
It is worth noting that previous recipients of the La Stele della Ienca award include journalist Luigi Accattoli (Vatican correspondent for Corriere della Sera); Cardinal Stanisław Dziwisz; the Italian Red Cross; Professor Antonino Zichichi from the University of Bologna; the youth participating in World Youth Days in Krakow in 2016; the Vatican Gendarmerie Corps; the Museum of the Family Home of St. John Paul II in Wadowice; as well as our Foundation (which received the award in 2023, accepted by Monsignor Paweł Ptasznik, chairman of the John Paul II Vatican Foundation, longtime close collaborator of the Polish Pope, and rector of St. Stanislaus BM Church in Rome).
