Detroit -- Sr. Monica Kostielney, RSM, who will retire as president and chief executive officer of the Michigan Catholic Conference in November, has been awarded the Holy Cross Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice (For Church and Pontiff) medal by Pope Benedict XVI.
The papal award was presented Sept. 8 at the MCC offices in downtown Lansing.
The medal was instituted by Pope Leo XIII in 1888 and is now bestowed upon lay people and clergy who, according to the Catholic Encyclopedia, “deserve well of the pope on account of services done for the Church and its head.”
The front of the medal has Sts. Peter and Paul underneath the words “Pro-Ecclesia et Pontifice,” while the back has the coat of arms of the Holy See and of the Vatican City State. The medal’s ribbon is white and yellow, the colors of the flag of the Holy See.
“Sr. Monica has been an exemplary leader of the MCC, has worked extraordinarily well with the Bishops of the State of Michigan, and is completely dedicated to the Catholic Church and especially to Her social teachings,” said Bishop Earl Boyea of Lansing, who recommended Sr. Kostielney for the papal award.
“If Sr. Monica had completed only one-tenth of all that she has done over these many years, she would have deserved this papal award. We are so indebted to her for her love and service,” he added.
Sr. Kostielney will retire from the MCC Nov. 15 after 38 years of service. Beginning her tenure as a public affairs assistant for education, she became executive vice president for public affairs in 1983 before being named president/CEO in 1994.
A native of Detroit, she received her bachelor’s degree from Mercy College and master’s degree from the University of Detroit (both institutions now merged to form the University of Detroit Mercy).
In 1999, Sr. Kostielney received an honorary doctor of law degree from Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, for providing “outstanding leadership in the defeat of the referendum (Proposal B) on physician-assisted suicide,” and the St. Thomas More Award from the Catholic Lawyers Guild of the Diocese of Lansing in 1997 for “tireless efforts to influence legislation that promotes sound public policy, respect for the human person, and the common good.”
Throughout her career Sr. Kostielney has served both the local and the national Church on matters related to Catholic education, law, human development and health care. She is a past member of Catholic Charities USA Social Policy Committee, past president and treasurer/secretary of the National Association of State Catholic Conference Directors, and current member of the National Diocesan Attorneys’ Association.
The Michigan Catholic Conference is the official public policy voice of all seven Catholic dioceses in the state.