BOSTON -- Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley presented the Cheverus Award to over 120 people during an afternoon prayer service at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross on Oct. 2, resuming the annual tradition after a two-year pause due to the pandemic.

The award is named after the first bishop of Boston, Bishop Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus and is symbolized by a silver medal bearing his image. The award is intended to honor local Catholics for long-time service to the Church, particularly those who do so without public recognition. In the past, the cardinal has described the Cheverus Awards as honoring the "unsung heroes and heroines" of the archdiocese.

Each year, one-third of the parishes in the archdiocese are asked to nominate a parishioner to receive the award. In addition, regional bishops and episcopal vicars are asked to nominate one religious and one deacon from their areas, while the Central Ministries of the archdiocese may nominate those who serve on archdiocesan committees or lead key ministries. The cardinal can also name additional recipients of his choosing.

Since their inauguration during the archdiocese's bicentennial celebrations in 2008, the awards have been presented annually except for 2020 and 2021, when pandemic restrictions prevented large gatherings.

This year, awards were granted posthumously to two individuals: Beirne Lovely, who served for several years as archdiocesan general counsel before his death in 2020; and Deacon Jesus Ortiz from Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Boston, who passed away in mid-September.

In his homily, Cardinal O'Malley spoke about the importance of saying "thank you" both to God and to those who witness and serve in the Church.

"Today, we honor a cross-section of men and women from all over the archdiocese, from every linguistic and ethnic group, whose years of service, rendered with great humility and out of the limelight, redound to the good of the whole Church," Cardinal O'Malley said.

He said it was "humbling to realize how many outstanding parishioners we have, whose dedication and loyalty to Christ and the Church is a constant source of richness and blessing."

"So often we take you for granted, but today we thank God for giving us such brothers and sisters, whose witness and good example fill us all with hope and joy," he said.

The cardinal also spoke about the life and legacy of Bishop Cheverus, who was exiled from his native France for refusing to swear an oath to the French Revolution. He ministered to immigrants and Native Americans who made up New England's Catholic community in his time.

Back then, the cardinal said, all the Catholics of New England could have fit in the cathedral. Today, there are two million Catholics in the Archdiocese of Boston alone.

"We need to persevere and preserve the treasure of the faith and pass it on to future generations. Our brothers and sisters receiving the Cheverus Award today are doing just that," Cardinal O'Malley said.

He noted that Bishop Cheverus' episcopal motto, which is engraved on the back of the award medals, was "Diligamus nos invicem," "Let us love one another," a refrain from the writings of St. John that echoes Jesus' new commandment.

"We see fraternal love and concern reflected in the lives of our awardees. Their love for all they serve is a reflection of Christ's love for us and a witness of the transformative power of the Christian faith. Let us all work together to show ourselves to be people of hospitality, of love, and of service," Cardinal O'Malley said.

Following the prayer service and bestowal of medals, there was a reception in the gymnasium of Cathedral High School.

Award recipient Dr. James Quinn, said it was "quite an honor to receive such an award."

"We don't do things for the archdiocese for such a thing, but it's nice when somebody says 'thank you,'" he said.

Sister Marta Soza, one of the Sister Disciples of the Divine Master who helped with preparations and was present for the ceremony, said it was "a delight for me just to see all the good that these parishioners do for the Lord."

"My heart is full of joy, full of hope for the world, because I see how many good people, how many extraordinary people that give so generously from their time, and very quietly, very humbly, so many different gifts, so many different works of love that they do for the Lord, it just touches me very deeply and makes me want to give as much as they give for the Lord. It's an example that encourages all of us," she said.