LOS ANGELES 20 July 2010 - Papal honors were conferred on behalf of Pope Benedict XVI on 189 members of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Of this number, 38 were admitted to the Order of Saint Gregory the Great. The others honorees received the Medal Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice and the Benemerenti Medal.
The Order of Saint Gregory the Great was instituted in 1831 is conferred for outstanding service and commitment to the Catholic Church and the Holy Father. The two medals recognize outstanding service to the local church and local ecclesial community. Paul VI removed the privileges and precedence of the Papal nobility, including Papal knights and dames. Today Papal Honors are simply honorary religious gifts.
Recipients of the Order of Gregory the Great were: Michael J. Smith, William Ahmanson, Thomas Barron, Douglas Cooper, Noel Diaz, Michael Enright, John Given, Lawrence Gray, Honorable Stephen Moloney, Patrick Nally, Joseph Page, Robert Pernecky, Dante Puccinelli, Scott Scherer, Daniel Schwala, John Smet, Brian Stevens, Dr. John Van Dyke, M.D., John Van Dyke, Laughlin Waters, Nicholas Weber, Cheryl Baker, Rosa Cumare, Patricia Gray, Phyllis Hennigan, Elizabeth Hotaling, Angela Howell, Carolyn Ludwig, Barbara McAndrews, Judith McDonald, Caroline Norman, Patricia O'Keefe, Sally Pernecky, Margareta Stark, Maria Uribe, Celeste Von Der Ahe, and Dianne Wilson.
Recipients of the Medal Pro Ecclesia and Pontifice or t he Benemerenti Medal were: Maria Brown, Sylvia
DeVillers, Dot Goerisch, Sally Kutcher, Bernadette Gurule, Geraldine Biggs McGrath, Ola Ostlund, Paul
Salamunovich, Don Williams, and Joanne Williams.
