U.S.-born priest working in Jamaica wins first $1 million Opus Prize

Published: 2004-05-24

SAN FRANCISCO (CNS) -- A Bronx, N.Y., native who has worked for nearly 30 years among the poor in Jamaica is the first winner of the $1 million Opus Prize. The prize was presented to 57-year-old Msgr. Richard Albert during commencement ceremonies May 21 at the University of San Francisco, where he also received an honorary doctorate. The Opus Prize, billed as the largest humanitarian award for social entrepreneurship, is a faith-based humanitarian grant to be awarded annually to an individual or organization of any religious background, anywhere in the world. Recipients must demonstrate a pioneering approach to solving the root cause of social problems in their community. The Opus Prize Foundation, based in Naples, Fla., is the philanthropic arm of the Opus Group. Since arriving in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1976, Msgr. Albert has founded six community centers that provide a broad range of services to abandoned elderly, neglected children and teens, and people with AIDS and Hansen's disease, which is what leprosy is now called.

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