The Marian Library Medal

The Greek letters MR-THU are the abbreviation for "Mother of God."

Explanation of the Marian Library Medal
Award for Mary Page: The Gold Quill Award

Explanation of the Marian Library Medal

The following article is adapted and excerpted from William Fackovec, S.M., "The Marian Library of the University of Dayton" Marian Library Studies Vol 1, 1969.

The story of the Marian Library Medal originates in 1944 when Bruce Publishing Company suggested to the Marianists the idea of presenting an award for the best new work on the Blessed Virgin. It wasn't until ten years later, however, that the suggestion was actualized. On April 14, 1953, Father Monheim, director of the library, circulated a letter announcing that on June 10, the Marian Library would "present its first gold medal to the author of the best book on the Blessed Virgin Mary, written originally in English, and published in the United States between April of one year and March of the following year" [archive].

The medal was to be given to the book that would do most to make "Our Lady better known, and as a result better loved and served." A panel of five judges, persons not affliated with the Marian Library, was chosen to make the selection. The first book to be chosen to best fit the criteria was Bishop Fulton Sheen's The World's First Love.

The award was presented yearly until 1967. At that time the production of marian books in English had dwindled. The terms governing the award changed to include international works, and if possible, to present the award every four years. The focus of the award was to be the work of the scholars who discover and explore marian doctrine and devotion.

In 1969, the a new design was created for the Marian Library Medal by Brother Joseph Barrish, S.M., and instructor in the University of Dayton's Department of FineArts. The new medal was a bronze representation of a tree bearing seven fruits. The branches, which are all interconnected to form several closed rings, are surmounted by the inscription Marian Library, while just beneath the roots is the date 1943, the library's founding date. The reverse of the medal bears the Greek symbols as seen in the medal above. This an abbreviation for the title, Mother of God, found on the icons of the Eastern churches.

Previous recipients of the current Marian Library Medal are:

Carol Balic, O.F.M (1971)
Giuseppe Besutti, O.S.M. (1975)
Sergio Alvarey-Campos (1979)
Stefano DeFiores, S.M.M. (1983)
Heinrich M. Koester, S.A.C. (1987)
Paul Melada, O.F.M. (1993)

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The Gold Quill Award

Gold Quill Award

The Mary Page is one of the award winners for the 1996 Gold Quill Award. It was chosen by the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) from 1,672 entries received from 18 countries. For more than 25 years, IABC's Gold Quill Awards program has been the hallmark of excellence in business communication. From the many thousands of entries submitted throughout the years, only the most outstanding communicators have been honored with this coveted award. The Gold Quill Awards program is an annual international competition which offers professional communicators an opportunity to have their work evaluated by expert judges. Many of the judges have themselves been recognized for excellence in communication.  Winners receive international recognition in the June/July issue of IABC's magazine, Communication World and at IABC's International Conference. Return to Top

Return to The Mary Page

This page, maintained by The Marian Library/International Marian Research Institute, Dayton, Ohio 45469-1390, and created by Michael P. Duricy was last modified Tuesday, 04/16/2002 11:16:34 EDT by Michael P. Duricy. Please send any comments to Johann.Roten@udayton.edu.

URL for this page is http://campus.udayton.edu/mary/resources/medal.html