ROME (06-30-2024) – Sister Raffaella Petrini, FSE, recently received the most prestigious award given to professional women in Italy, The Marisa Bellisario Award; it is known in Italy as the “Oscar for Women.” The awards ceremony of the 36th edition of the Marisa Bellisario Prize for “women who make a difference” was held at the Colosseum Park in Rome, and was televised on Italian television on the evening of June 15. Below is a description of Marisa Bellisario Foundation and the award:
“The Marisa Bellisario Foundation, created in 1989, the Marisa Bellisario Award is recognized as the most authoritative Italian accolade for female excellence. It awards each year successful women in Italy who have distinguished themselves in their professional fields as innovative managers, entrepreneurs or researchers at a national and international level. The award, the Golden Apple, originates from Marisa Bellisario, one of the first Italian female managers. She stood for equality between men and women in the corporate world. Thus, the foundation recognizes the top performance of women in the professional world of making a further step on the road to equal opportunities.
“The beating heart of the Marisa Bellisario Award is merit, the Foundation’s true common denominator, but also determination, a proud belief in one’s abilities, a spirit of sacrifice, a confident commitment to achieving goals, and a spirit of sharing and generosity toward other women” (Foundazione Marisa Bellisario website).
The Franciscan Community congratulates Sister Raffaella on this special professional, secular recognition, and even more so, is proud of her keen sense of apostolic spirit, her dedication to the Church and the Community, and the “ordinary Franciscan way” she carries out her extraordinary mission as Secretary General of the Vatican Governate.
Winners of the 2024 Marisa Bellisario Award.