Overview
- Villanova announced the new Pope Leo XIV Sustainability Medal on Monday and said the inaugural winner will be revealed in September and presented by Pope Leo XIV at the Villanova International Sustainability Conference in Castel Gandolfo from Oct. 12–15, 2026.
- The prize will be awarded every two years and recognizes leaders whose work advances sustainability, ecological responsibility, and integral human development with an emphasis on moral and social dimensions over purely technical metrics.
- Nominees for the first medal were reviewed by members of Villanova’s Sustainability Leadership Council and the university said recipients may come from any field and will be chosen for demonstrable impact on vulnerable communities and the common good.
- The medal will bear Pope Leo’s image on one side and Villanova’s name on the other and includes a monetary component that a university spokesperson said is still being finalized.
- The award and conference are being organized in dialogue with Vatican institutions including the Laudato si' Center for Higher Education and the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, building on Villanova’s prior sustainability commitments and the pope’s public emphasis on an ‘ecological conversion.’