The Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award is a Catholic peace award which has been given annually since 1964, in commemoration of the 1963 encyclical letter Pacem in terris (Peace on Earth) of Pope John XXIII. It is awarded "to honor a person for their achievements in peace and justice, not only in their country but in the world", and has been granted to people of many different creeds.
The award was begun in 1963 by the Davenport Catholic Interracial Council of the Diocese of Davenport in the U.S. state of Iowa. Since 1976, the award has been presented each year by the Quad Cities (Davenport and Bettendorf in southeastern Iowa, Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline in northwestern Illinois) Pacem in Terris Coalition. In 2010, sponsors of the award were the Diocese of Davenport, St. Ambrose University, Augustana College, Churches United of the Quad-Cities, Pax Christi, The Catholic Messenger, the Congregation of the Humility of Mary, the Sisters of St. Benedict, the Muslim Community of the Quad Cities, and the Sisters of St. Francis.
Six recipients have also received a Nobel Peace Prize. Two recipients are Servants of God, meaning that they are being reviewed by the Catholic Church for possible canonization as a saint, while a third, Mother Teresa, has been canonized as Saint Teresa of Calcutta.
Award winners
{| class="wikitable sortable" border="1"
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! Year
! Image
! Recipient
! Nationality or Base Country
! Citation
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| rowspan="2" | 1964 || 75px || John Howard Griffin<br>(1926–2022) || || "honored for his lifelong commitment to peace and for his inspired, dedicated work to bridge Eastern and Western spiritual traditions."
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| 2016 || 75px || Gustavo Gutiérrez, O.P.<br>(b. 1928) || || "recognized as a prominent figure in Latin American Catholicism with his book A Theology on Liberation led many to view him as the founder of liberation theology."
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| 2017 || 75px || Widad Akrawi<br>(b. 1969) || || for having "cofounded the human rights organization, Defend International."
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| 2018 || colspan="4" align="center" | Not awarded
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2019 || 75px || Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama<br>(b. 1935) || || for having "worked tirelessly for peace and justice and advocates for human dignity for all in Asia."
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| 75px || Munib Younan<br>(b. 1950) || || for having "committed to cultivating peace by building bridges among religions."
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| 2020 || colspan="4" rowspan="2" align="center" | Not awarded due to COVID-19 pandemic
|-
| 2021
|-
| 2022 ||75px || Norma Pimentel, M.J.<br>(b. 1953) || || "for her dedication to serving asylum seekers as executive director of Catholic Charities of the Rio Grande Valley in the Brownsville Diocese in Texas."
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| 2023 || || Atiya Aftab and Sheryl Olitzky || || for being "co-founders of the Sisterhood of Salaam Shalom."
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| 2024 || || Chad Pregracke(b. 1975) || || for being the "founder and president of Living Lands & Waters, an environmental organization, he was the first recipient recognized for work on environmental justice and care for creation."
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| 2025 ||75px || Silvio José Báez Ortega, OCD<br>(b. 1958) || || for his "commitment as a shepherd of the poor and a courageous defender of human rights and democracy who had endured physical injury and threats to [his] life while pursuing mediation between government and pro-democracy forces in your beloved Nicaragua"
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|}
See also
- List of ecclesiastical decorations