A project run by the Catholic Church in western India’s Goa state, which supports vulnerable youth and marginalized women in becoming self-reliant, has won the 2025 “Francis of Assisi and Carlo Acutis, for an Economy of Fraternity” international award. Project HOPE was conferred the award at the Church of St. Mary Major in Assisi, Italy, on May 25. The award includes a cash prize of 50,000 euros and a scarf featuring an image of St. Francis of Assisi removing his clothes as a symbol of renouncing the material world.
Father Sanford Rodrigues from the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman received the award on behalf of the project team. HOPE, which stands for Healing, Opportunities, Protection, and Empowerment, was born out of “Childline” — an initiative by Catholic charity Caritas Goa that sought to rescue and rehabilitate vulnerable children from the poor and neglected villages. The government took over the project in 2023, and subsequently, some volunteers launched a new project on a pilot basis, which evolved into HOPE.
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