Malaysian receives knighthood from Pope

The Holy Father recently conferred the title "Knight of St. Sylvester" on a Malaysian for his contributions to social communication on Feb 27.

Mar 14, 2014

ROME: The Holy Father recently conferred the title "Knight of St. Sylvester" on a Malaysian for his contributions to social communication on Feb 27.

Augustine Loorthusamy, the outgoing president of Signis (World Catholic Association for Communication), was the first Malaysian to receive this prestigious award from Pope Francis.

The knighthood was bestowed by the president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communication, Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli on behalf of the Pope.

"The Holy Father is bestowing such a recognition on people in order to appreciate their works for the good of the people and the Church," Celli said after awarding Sir Loorthusamy at the closing ceremony of the Signis World Congress 2014 in Rome, Italy.

He said it is good that the Holy Father is giving the honour for Sir Loorthusamy's dedication and responsible leadership of Signis, which has over 100 member countries worldwide.
"This is a gesture to show the benevolence of the Holy Father, to say how much he appreciates what he has done for Signis.

"The service of Signis in the field of social communication, radio, press, cinema and media production has played a major role in people's lives; I am talking about digital technology as well," Celli said.

Sir Loorthusamy meanwhile, expressed his gratitude to Pope Francis for recognising the works and contributions of Signis in the development of communication.

Sir Loorthusamy, who served two terms from 2005 as Signis president, is a parishioner of Kristus Aman Chapel in Kuala Lumpur.--By Canute Januarius

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