AICU Honors Prominent Citizens with its Prestigious Centenary Awards for Nation Building

New Delhi, August 22, 2026: The All-India Catholic Union (AICU), Asia’s oldest laity-led organization at 107th year, will confer its prestigious centenary awards to a group of distinguished citizens for their sterling services to the nation on August 22 in New Delhi.

The award categories include civil, civic, community services and lifetime achievement awards.

The recipients include a retired IAS officer, The Open Arms Educational and Charitable Trust, healthcare professionals, social workers, an engineer, an educationist, an activist and a disability rights campaigner, drawn from Goa, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, West Bengal and Maharashtra.

The Union also conferred a Lifetime Achievement Award and a Service Appreciation Award on two of its former national office bearers.

Elvis Gomes, a former senior bureaucrat, was selected for the AICU Centenary Civil award, The Open Arms Educational and Charitable Trust trustees Lovina Khan, Md Ekram Khan and David Khan for Civic award for upliftment of underprivileged, marginalized communities, Veronica Cornelio for Community Service, and Eugene Gonsalves for Lifetime Achievement award for services to the Catholic laity.

The awards consist of a citation, memento and Rs 25,000.

“A distinguished civil servant of Goa, Gomes dedicated two decades of his professional life to public service,” Elias Vaz, president of AICU said in his citation, adding that throughout his career, he distinguished himself not merely by hid administrative competence, but by a deeper understanding of what public administration is ultimately meant to achieve: to serve people, protect dignity and advance the common good.

“His record of service is characterized by sincerity, honesty, courage and unwavering sense of duty,” it noted.

The Open Arms Educational and Charitable Trust is recognized for its outstanding and sustained contribution to healthcare, education, women’s empowerment, livelihood development, humanitarian relief, and community welfare, and for its exemplary commitment to serving humanity with compassion and dignity.

The Special Recognition Award has been bestowed on Elizabeth D. Antony for her outstanding commitment to community healthcare, preventive health awareness and voluntary service among vulnerable sections of society.

While U. Sagayam, former bureaucrat and Bosco Michael D’Souza, a social worker, have been named for AICU Special Recognition Award 2026, Immaculate Mary, A. Anbudas, Alexander Das, Peter Kung, Y.Raju have been given the AICU Recognition award.

Elias Rodney Vaz, who served as the President of the AICU for two consecutive terms from 2022 to 2026, was presented a Letter of Appreciation in recognition of his “Distinguished Leadership, Dedicated Service and Outstanding Contribution”.

By Catholic Connect Reporter