Denver, Colo., Feb 1, 2005 / 22:00 pm
According to the Archdiocese of Denver, Pope John Paul II has recently named six area couples and five individuals as recipients of significant papal honors.
The Pope named five of the Denver couples for induction as dames and knights into the papal knightly Order of St. Gregory the Great, and a sixth as recipients of the Benemerenti Award for exceptional service to the Catholic Church.
The Archdiocese stated that the knightly awards are often “seen as a ‘lifetime achievement’ recognition,” and noted that “these are the first such papal appointments in the Archdiocese of Denver in recent memory.”
The Holy Father named Catholic philanthropists John and Carol Saeman as Knight and Dame Commander of the order of St. Gregory the Great. They join Archdiocesan Chancellor Francis Xavier Maier and his wife Suann Therese, Deacon Clarence and Wanda McDavid, Deacon Alfonso and Frances Sandoval and philanthropists Thomas and Judith Morroni who were each named as knights and dames respectively.