The Diocese
Posted: 09/26/2019
Dr. Tom Catena, winner of the 2017 Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, visited the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church on Tuesday, September 24, 2019.
In a meeting with the Diocesan Primate His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, the missionary American physician spoke about his experience treating patients in Gidel in the Nuba Mountains of Sudan. Expressing his wholehearted gratitude to Dr. Catena, Archbishop Derderian commended his God-pleasing mission and wished him continued success in his noble endeavors.
On May 28, 2017 he was awarded the second annual Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity. In July 2019, the Aurura Humanitarian Initiative announced the #AraratChallenge, a new crowdfunding campaign aimed at supporting those in urgent need of basic humanitarian aid around the world. Visit the AraratChallenge website to learn more. Donate Now.
Dr. Catena, joined the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative as its inaugural Chair in December 2018. He is also the founder and Medical Director of the Mother of Mercy Hospital in Sudan where for the past decade he has served as the only surgeon permanently based in the war-ravaged Nuba Mountains region.
Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity is an annual international humanitarian award recognizing individuals for humanitarian work. It is awarded on behalf of the survivors of the Armenian Genocide. The Prize is awarded for courage, commitment to a humanitarian cause and impact on the world.
It was officially announced at 100 LIVES launch event in New York on March 10, 2015. The creation of the Aurora Prize was inspired by many stories of the rescue of Armenians during the Armenian Genocide.
The prize is named after Aurora Mardiganian, a survivor of the Armenian Genocide and the author of the book Ravished Armenia. The Aurora Humanitarian Initiative was founded by Noubar Afeyan, Vartan Gregorian, and Ruben Vardanyan.
Click here to learn more about the Aurora Prize.
