Rome (Italy). On 11 December 2025, the award ceremony for the Prize, “The Reasons of the New Politics“ of the cultural association “The Dawn of the Third Millennium” was held in Rome, at the Vanvitelli Hall of the State Attorney General’s Office.
Sister Piera Ruffinatto, Daughter of Mary Help of Christians, Dean of the Pontifical Faculty of Educational Sciences «Auxilium», received recognition for “having made a significant contribution to our Country with authority and dedication, showing constant and uncommon attention to the major transformations that in recent decades have changed boundaries, structures, and balances in the world of Formation.”
The Award is promoted by Sara Iannone, President and Founder of the Association in 1996, and every year the honor is awarded to men and women committed to spreading, protecting, and promoting arts and crafts, cultures and languages, politics, science, and religious faiths to foster encounter, discussion, coexistence, and the involvement of the national and international figures who most express, represent, interpret, and testify to them.
“For more than fifty years our mission has been to promote a comprehensive education, with particular attention to women as protagonists of social and cultural transformation.” This is how the Principal expressed herself upon receiving the Award. “We have had the privilege of forming generations of religious and lay people from five continents, convinced that education is the key to building more just and supportive societies.”
And making herself the voice of the faculty and students, of the Auxilium Faculty, she concluded: “Thank you to those who believe that educating is generating hope and the future.”
The award ceremony followed the discourse by the State Attorney General Gabriella Palmieri Sandulli and a conference by Prof. Ortensio Zecchino on the theme, “The commitment of Catholics in the management of Res Publica”. Together with Sister Piera Ruffinatto, prominent figures in political and professional life, university research, law, and journalism were awarded.
The Award, “The Reasons of New Politics”, now in its 22nd edition, has earned the esteem and consideration of all the highest institutions of the State and the Presidency of the Italian Republic, which, with President Giorgio Napolitano, established the medal dedicated to the Association to be awarded as a special recognition by the Head of State. The awards consist of the trophy, “The Dove of Civilization”, an exclusive work of art created by master Benedetto Robazza.
The Faculty of Educational Sciences «Auxilium», governed for over fifty years by the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, cultivates its mission in the international and intercultural fields as a consolidated and lived experience, aiming for a university education that knows how to build strong identities in the educational field, in an increasingly multiethnic and multicultural society, with a constant focus on the transformations of contemporary society, which involve all professions, from the most traditional to the most innovative and recent.
This prestigious recognition is an encouragement for the Faculty to continue investing in research, formation, and intercultural dialogue.
A Sr. Piera e a tutte e tutti della nostra facoltà un augurio sentito e un grazie e per il premio e per le parole di Sr. Piera.
Ringraziamo le nostre superiore ( da Madre Angela in poi) e tutte le ispettorie che hanno fiducia in Auxilium.
Congratulations dear Sr. Piera. Here in Ireland we rejoice with you and give thanks for receiving the board a sign of all the wonderful work that you have done down through the years Kathleen Taylor
Ci rallegriamo con te Sr. Piera per questo premio. E’ un riconoscimento molto significativo per ciò che la Facoltà sta facendo….è un grande onore per la Facoltà e per l’Istituto!
Congratulations dear Sr. Piera. You deserve this honour.
Con fraterna compiacenza partecipo alla consegna di questo ‘Premio’ a suor Piera Ruffinatto, Preside dell’Auxilium che con altre Consorelle e laici coinvolti nell’impegno educativo universitario proposto dall’AUXILUM, hanno donato il meglio della loro testimonianza e capacita’ a bene degli studenti che a loro volta hanno contribuito e contribuiranno al bene sociale…
Carissima sr Piera, todo para mayor gloria de Dios y el bien de los jóvenes. GRACIAS y adelante. Un fuerte abrazo