Cardinal Michael Czerny receives the Klaus Hemmerle Award 2024

The Klaus Hemmerle Award is presented every two years to people who, like the former Bishop of Aachen, Klaus Hemmerle (1929-1994), have worked as bridge builders in the church and the society.

Since 2004, the Focolare Movement has presented this award to personalities who have made outstanding contributions as bridge builders and who, in a special way, promote dialogue between churches, religions and different worldviews.

In its decision, the jury emphasized Czerny's tireless commitment to human dignity and human rights and his invitation to "accept differences and learn from other cultures" in order to build "a more just world".

Previous winners of the Klaus Hemmerle Award have been: Jewish Professor Dr. Ernst-Ludwig Ehrlich (2004); former President of the Lutheran World Federation, Bishop i. R. Dr. Christian Krause (2006); Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople (2008); Dr. Alfons Nossol, Archbishop Emeritus of Opole, Poland (2010); former Bavarian Minister of Culture and long-time chairman of the Central Committee of the German Catholics, Prof. Dr. Hans Maier (2012); leper physician Dr. Ruth Pfau (2014); Muslim AIDS doctor Dr. Noorjehan Abdul Majid of Mozambique (2016); Rabbi Dr. Henry Brandt of Augsburg (2018); Orthodox Archbishop Anastasios Yannoulatos of Albania (2020) and in 2022 the former Prime Minister of Poland, Prof. Dr. Hannah Suchocka.  

During his trip to Germany, Cardinal Michael Czerny also presided at a Mass in the Cathedral of Aachen, met with some German bishops with whom he discussed the social teaching of Pope Francis and met in Limburg with the President of the German Bishops' Conference, Bishop Georg Bätzing.