Every year, the Diocese of San Bernardino honors several men and women for their exemplary work in their ministries. The Diocese dispenses three awards: the Our Lady of Guadalupe Award, the St. Bernardine Award and the St. John Paul II Youth Award.
Pastors, Administrators, Pastoral Coordinators and Diocesan Office Directors are asked to submit a nomination for the awardees. The awardees are recognized at the Annual Diocesan Awards Ceremony. This year, the Ceremony will be held on May 20 at Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, San Bernardino, at 5:00 p.m. Below are this year’s award recipients. There are 38 Guadalupe Award recipients, 19 St. Bernardine Award recipients and 15 St. John Paul II Youth Award recipients.
Our Lady of Guadalupe Award
This award is given to an “indispensable” volunteer who goes above and beyond their call to serve our Lord and His people, or even someone in the community who is not of our faith but who deserves to be recognized by the Church for their contributions to society.
The award recipients are: Maria Abrigo, St. Christopher, Moreno Valley; Gerry Allred, Holy Spirit, Hemet; David and Gail Banker, St. Joseph, Upland; Kimmy Boyett, St. Peter & St. Paul, Alta Loma; Luis Humberto Caballero, St. Margaret Mary, Chino; Andrew and Ashlee Doyle, Office of Worship, Diocesan Pastoral Center; Rick Ferguson, The Holy Name of Jesus, Redlands; James Gasper, St. Vincent Ferrer, Menifee; Danny and Anna Gmeiner, Su Misericordia, San Bernardino; Juan and Michelle Gonzalez, St. Francis de Sales, Riverside; Lydia Hanna, Sacred Heart, Rancho Cucamonga; Xavier Jacobo, St. Bernardine, San Bernardino; “Tata” Leobardo Jiménez, The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mecca; Elba Lopez, St. Paul the Apostle, Chino Hills; Aida Martinez, St. Catherine of Alexandria, Temecula; David and Aurora Mendoza, Christ the Redeemer, Grand Terrace; Elidia Porras, St. George, Ontario; Maria Juan Raymundo, St. Anthony of Padua, Riverside; Mona Rodriguez, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Yucaipa; Luis Antonio Medina Romero, St. Bernardine, San Bernardino; Amparo Sánchez, Jóvenes Para Cristo, San Bernardino; Julia (Julie) Marie Sandoval, St. Joseph Mission Soboba, San Jacinto; Rey Santos, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Beaumont; Maria Sell, Corpus Christi, Corona; Jose Solis Reyes, St. Anthony Church, San Bernardino; Lorene Sponsler, Serra Club International, San Bernardino; Marcela Tamayo, Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, San Bernardino; Tiffany Tan Hao Tran, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Riverside; Clayton and Cecilia Trejo, Marriage Enrichment, Upland; Jerry and Lois Phipps, Blessed Sacrament, Twentynine Palms; Henry Corral, St. Joseph, Upland.
St. Bernardine Award
This award is given to a parish or diocesan employee of over ten years that not only does what is called for in their job description, but is also notable for the work they do in the community and/or in ministry.
The award recipients are: John Andrews, Department of Communications, Diocesan Pastoral Center; Maria Cordeiro, St. Thomas the Apostle, Riverside; Adriana Franco, Office of Worship, Diocesan Pastoral Center; Paula Garcia, Office of Human Resources, Diocesan Pastoral Center; Marianne Hacker, St. Margaret Mary, Chino; Margarita Isenberg, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Yucaipa; Laura Keyser, Office of Accounting/Parish Assistance, Diocesan Pastoral Center; Eric Kuske, Office of Information Technology Services, Diocesan Pastoral Center; Teresita De Jesus Lopez, St. Christopher, Moreno Valley; Mario and Paola Martinez, Marriage and Family Life, Diocesan Pastoral Center; Irma McGaughey, St. Peter & St. Paul, Alta Loma; Dr. Jose Antonio Medina, Continuing Formation of Priests, Diocesan Pastoral Center; David Meier, Office of Construction and Real Estate, Diocesan Pastoral Center; Armando Montano, Office of the Bishop, Diocesan Pastoral Center; David Okonkwo, Office of Ministry to Catholics of African Descent, Diocesan Pastoral Center; Kathy Sanchez, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Beaumont; Henry Koji Takemura, St. Paul the Apostle, Chino Hills; Gloria Yanez, Office of Payroll Services, Diocesan Pastoral Center.
St. John Paul II Youth Award
This award is given to a young person who inspires others by their example of Christian service to Church and/or society.
The award recipients are: Mitchelle J. Aceves, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Yucaipa; Alexis Alcaraz, St. Catherine of Alexandria, Temecula; Zamira Amaro, Blessed Sacrament Parish Twenty-nine Palms; Victoria Marie Garcia Bacon, Christ the Redeemer, Grand Terrace; Chris Garcia, St. Paul the Apostle, Chino Hills; Aiden Gomez, St. Thomas the Apostle, Riverside; Denise Herrera, St. Christopher, Moreno Valley; Fatima Medina, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Beaumont; Eduardo Menendez, St. Peter & Saint Paul, Alta Loma; Crystal Marisol Partida, St. Margaret Mary, Chino; Diego Renderos, The Holy Name of Jesus, Redlands; Ivan Cortez Rios, Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral, San Bernardino; Joseph Rosales, Sacred Heart, Rancho Cucamonga; Mi-randa Vasquez, St. Francis de Sales, Riverside; Alondra Zaragoza, St. Bernardine, San Bernardino.