3 things to know about pro-life group founder, activist Geline Williams, who died at 100
3. Received several awards in her lifetime, including a medal from the pope
Williams was also recognized with several awards throughout her lifetime. In 2011, she received the Distinguished Alumna Award from St. Catherine’s School, her alma mater. As outlined on the school’s website, the award is given to “an alumna who has helped to make her city, state or world a better place by giving of her talents in the true spirit of the school motto: What we keep, we lose; only what we give remains our own.”
“The award is intended to honor a St. Catherine’s alumna who has distinguished herself in her field, either as a professional or as a community volunteer, and who is an outstanding example of what one can achieve when grounded in the St. Catherine’s experience,” the website stated.
She was also honored with the annual Brotherhood Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews in 1979 and the Commonwealth Catholic Charities Award in 2012. In 1985, Pope St. John Paul II presented Williams with the Benemerenti Medal, the highest honor possible for a Catholic lay person. Fr. John Hardon’s Modern Catholic Dictionary defines the award as a “recognition of distinguished service in military or civil affairs” that dates back to 1852.
Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: ryan.foley@christianpost.com
