The first edition of the international "Pacim Nuntius" award, established by the monastic community of Montecassino "to encourage and promote a concrete commitment to peace in various contexts around the world," emphasized Abbot Luca Fallica, has been awarded to Cardinal and Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Pierbattista Pizzaballa. This award marks the beginning of the celebrations for the 1,500th anniversary of the Benedictine abbey.

Cardinal Pizzaballa, currently unable to travel to Italy, connected digitally on the morning of Friday, March 20, reiterating the need for a swift peace, after briefly describing the current and very difficult situation in Palestine. The cardinal expressed his hope that he would be present at Montecassino on July 10, having already been invited to attend First Vespers on the Solemnity of Saint Benedict. The monks, however, hope to join him in Jerusalem on a pilgrimage to receive the “Pacis Nuntius,” so called in memory of the apostolic letter with which Paul VI, on October 24, 1964, proclaimed Saint Benedict patron of Europe.

The award recipient was the Franciscan cardinal, "a figure of high spiritual and human standing," recognized for his "constant commitment to promoting dialogue between peoples and witnessing to Christian peace as an essential foundation for the protection of life and harmony." "With this recognition," the citation states, "the Abbey intends to support and share its commitment on the long and complex journey toward peace, including this initiative within a broader internationalization effort aimed at enhancing Benedictine spirituality." "Cardinal Pizzaballa's testimony," said Abbot Fallica, addressing Pizzaballa via video link, "embodies the Church's commitment to protecting life and human dignity, as well as to combating all forms of violence. War, in its blindness, makes everyone a victim, particularly affecting the most vulnerable, including children. It is our duty to support, by all means, those working for the affirmation of peace." You are the first to receive this recognition and through you we wish to reach out to the entire Christian community present in the Holy Land ."

Fallica then outlined the community's journey toward 2029, "when we will commemorate the 1,500th anniversary of the founding of this Abbey. We wanted each year to be characterized by a theme. We began with the theme of peace, in light of a verse from the prophet Haggai ("On this place I will place peace"), and in the coming years we will look to Montecassino as a place of light, fraternal communion, and hope." The abbey and the town below are currently at the center of several events in the "Transit of Saint Benedict" program: on the morning of Thursday, March 19, the traditional Benedictine torch of peace arrived, welcomed by hundreds of students, uniting the cities and Abbeys of Norcia, Subiaco, Cassino, and Montecassino. "From these cities, we too, following the example of Saint Benedict, wish to be 'pacis nuntii', messengers of peace, and to urge all who long for 'happy days' to undertake this journey, however arduous and uphill, to seek peace and pursue it with all their energies—physical, mental, and spiritual. Is it a dream? Perhaps so, but it is God's dream. The dream of every man and woman of good will," added the Abbot of Montecassino.