Dear Cardinals,
Most of us will never have the opportunity to give $1 million dollars to our favorite charity, but together with the Opus Prize Foundation, The Catholic University of America will do just that later this fall.
The Opus Prize is an annual faith-based humanitarian award that seeks to recognize those who are working to solve the world’s toughest social issues. It also seeks to inspire others to look for new and innovative ways to serve others.
The Opus Prize Foundation partners each year with a Catholic university to identify nominees and select finalists, and it has been a great honor for The Catholic University of America to have participated in this work over the past year. We also hosted the Opus Prize in 2007, so we are doubly honored to be the only university to have hosted the prize two times.
Our theme for the 2022 Opus Prize has been “Inspiring Changemakers.” On Nov. 3 we will announce the winner of the 2022 Opus Prize, as well as two $100,000 prizes, during an awards ceremony held at the Edward J. Pryzbyla University Center.
Last spring delegations from Catholic University interviewed three finalists: Community Renewal International (Shreveport, LA), Damien House, Inc. (Guayaquil, Ecuador), and Interfaith Mediation Centre (Kaduna, Nigeria). All three organizations have different missions, but they are inspiring helpful social change in their communities.
I would like to thank the oversight committee for the 2022 Opus Prize, chaired by Bill Jonas, executive director of University events and dining services, and Emmjolee Mendoza Waters, director of community engagement, social justice, and Catholic social teaching initiatives. A lot of work has been done this past year to nominate and select our three finalists. Thank you for your dedicated service to this University.
I invite you all to learn more about the Opus Prize and our three finalists, and I look forward to seeing you at the final reveal on Nov. 3.
Sincerely, | 
