January 29, 2010
by James Martin, S.J.

The Editorial Board of America is proud to announce that The Most Reverend Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, is the 2009 recipient of the Campion Award. The award is given on a regular basis to a noted Christian person of letters. It is named after St. Edmund Campion, S.J., who is patron of America's communications ministry. Last year's award was bestowed posthumously on Jon Hassler, the novelist, who chronicled life in the upper Midwest.

A martyr of the English Reformation, St. Edmund Campion stirred Elizabethan England with his daring missionary efforts and the great power of his pen. His "Brag" in defense of his faith has become a classic. He was known for his faith, chivalry and unusual literary talent-qualities shared by the Archbishop Williams. Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England remember Campion in their calendars of saints.

Archbishop Williams, former bishop of Monmouth and archbishop of Wales, has headed the archdiocese of Canterbury and led the worldwide Anglican Communion since 2003. A renowned scholar, theologian, ecumenist, pastor, professor and poet, he is the author of more than a score of books. For his distinguished contributions to Christian letters, the editors of America honor Archbishop Williams in the name of St. Edmund Campion.

The award will be presented on this evening, January 25, 2010, during a reception at America House, 106 W. 56th St., N.Y.C., from 5 to 6:45 p. m. The ceremony will conclude with a prayer service marking the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Archbishop Williams will preside along with Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Papal Nuncio and the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the United Nations and Bishop William Murphy, bishop of Rockville Center. Also in attendance will be Archbishop Demetrios, the primate of the Greek Orthodox Church in America.

The Campion Award

The Campion Award is named after St. Edmund Campion, S.J., who was put to death on the gibbet of Tyburn, London, in 1581 because he would not deny his faith or his priesthood. He was canonized in 1970. Campion stirred English hearts before his tragic death by his daring missionary efforts and the extraordinary power of his pen. Evelyn Waugh said of him that Tyburn's gallows cut short a career that might have been one of English literature. Campion left Oxford to prepare for the priesthood at Douay, France, and later returned to England to serve the Roman Catholic community during a period of religious persecution under Queen Elizabeth. Campion's "Brag" in defense of his faith has become a classic and moving example of a person of faith, chivalry, and unusual literary talent: it pays tribute to those same qualities in the modern authors to whom this award is given.

The Campion Award was established in 1955 by the Rev. Harold C. Gardiner, S.J., then editorial chairman of the Catholic Book Club and literary editor of America magazine. Jacques Maritain, the noted Thomistic philosopher, was chosen in May 1955 as the first recipient of the award. Since then:

• 1956: Helen Constance White, educator and author

• 1957: Paul Horgan, novelist and man of letters

• 1958: Rev. James Brodrick, S.J., British church historian

• 1959: Sister M. Madeleva, C.S.C., poet and scholar

• 1960: Frank Sheed and Maisie Ward, authors and publishers

• 1961: Rev. John LaFarge, S.J., editor in chief of America, and author

• 1962: Rev. Harold C. Gardiner, S.J., literary editor of America/author

• 1963: Thomas Stearns (T.S.) Eliot, British poet

• 1965: Barbara Ward, British professor and church historian

• 1966: Rev. John Courtney Murray, S.J., university professor/theologian

• 1967: Phyllis McGinley, creative writer

• 1968: George N. Shuster, author and publisher

• 1970: G. B. Harrison, Shakespearean scholar and author

• 1971: Walter and Jean Kerr, critic and playwright, respectively

• 1974: Rev. Karl Rahner, S.J., university professor and theologian

• 1976: John Delaney, publisher and editor

• 1984: Rev. Raymond E. Brown, S.S., univ. professor/Scripture scholar

• 1986: Walker Percy, novelist

• 1987: The Honorable John T. Noonan, federal judge/author

• 1988: Robert Giroux, chairman of the editorial board of Farrar, Straus & Giroux

• 1989: Rev. Avery Dulles, S.J., univ. professor and systematic theologian

• 1990: Shusako Endo, novelist

• 1991: Martin Marty, university professor and theologian

• 1992: Rev. Walter Ong, S.J., university professor and literary critic

• 1993: J. Bryan Hehir, university professor and theologian

• 1994: Annie Dillard, writer and university professor

• 1995: Rev. Richard A. McCormick, S.J., univ. professor and theologian

• 1996: Chinua Achebe, fiction writer

• 1997: John Updike, fiction writer and critic

• 1998: Daniel Berrigan, S.J., author and prophetic witness

• 1999: New York Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan-scholar, statesman, author

• 2001: Dame Muriel Spark, mystery writer

• 2006: Rev. Andrew M. Greeley, sociologist and author

• 2008: Jon Hassler, university professor and author

• 2009 The Most Reverend Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury

America Magazine