The de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture is proud to announce that the sixteenth annual Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal, the nation’s most important award for heroes of the pro-life movement, will be awarded to the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. The medal will be presented to the mother superior, Mother Marie Edward, O.P., on behalf of the Sisters at a special Mass and dinner at the University of Notre Dame on Saturday, April 24, 2027.

For more than 125 years, the Sisters have provided free, expert nursing care to impoverished men and women dying from cancer, accompanying their patients with prayer and love borne of their devotion to “Christ’s sick poor.” In a time which makes no place “for anyone who, like the unborn or the dying, is a weak element in the social structure, or for anyone who appears completely at the mercy of others and radically dependent on them” (Pope St. John Paul II, Evangelium Vitae, n. 19), the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne serve as a countercultural sign and help to build an authentic civilization of truth and love.

Rev. Robert A. Dowd, C.S.C., president of the University of Notre Dame, reflected on the work of the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne. “In their mission to care for men and women suffering from incurable cancer, the Sisters radiate the very mercy of God. Since their founding, they have proclaimed the Gospel of Life through direct service to God’s beloved poor, fulfilling Christ's command to comfort the sick and give shelter to the homeless. The Sisters’ loving ministry of care for their patients highlights the inherent, God-given dignity of every human person, regardless of worldly success or social status. We are proud to present the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne with the Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal.”

“In their profound service of loving care for the sick and dying, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne are a shining example of Christian charity in action,” said Jennifer Newsome Martin, director of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture. “Through their joyful, attentive, and prayerful accompaniment of men and women who face the ultimate challenge of suffering and death, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne proclaim, in the words of Pope St. John Paul II, that ‘Man is called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence, because it consists in sharing the very life of God’ (EV, n. 2).”

The Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne, Congregation of St. Rose of Lima, was founded by Rose Hawthorne Lathrop (1851–1926), daughter of American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne. Following her entry into the Catholic Church in 1891, Lathrop volunteered with the Sisters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul, becoming inspired by their motto, “I am for God and for the poor.” In her memoirs, she wrote, “A fire was then lighted in my heart, where it still burns… I set my whole being to endeavor to bring consolation to the cancerous poor.” Lathrop was received as a lay Dominican tertiary and went on to establish a religious congregation that offered free care to men and women dying of cancer in the impoverished Lower East Side of Manhattan, relying entirely upon charitable donations to support her work.

Today, the Dominican Sisters of Hawthorne continue the work of Ven. Mother Alphonsa at two care facilities: Rosary Hill Home in Hawthorne, NY, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Home in Atlanta, GA. Flowing from their common life of prayer and devotion to the Eucharist, the sisters provide fully licensed medical care without cost. The community relies entirely on the generosity of benefactors to support their work, does not take remuneration from patients or their families, and accepts no governmental aid nor private insurance.

The Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal, named after Pope St. John Paul II’s 1995 encyclical, is awarded annually by the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture to honor individuals and organizations whose outstanding contributions have advanced the proclamation of the sanctity of human life.

Announced annually on Respect Life Sunday, the first Sunday of October, the Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae award consists of a specially commissioned medal and $10,000 prize presented at a banquet following a celebratory Mass in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart. Registration for the 2027 Evangelium Vitae Medal Mass and dinner will be available through the de Nicola Center’s website in early 2027. For more information, visit ethicscenter.nd.edu/programs/culture-of-life/evangelium-vitae-medal/.