Ratzinger Prize Awarded to Japanese Sculptor Etsuro Sotoo who Converted by Visiting a Basilica and Irish Theologian Cyril O'Regan

Ratzinger Prize goes to Japanese sculptor Etsuro Sotoo and Irish theologian Cyril O'Regan
Etsuro Sotoo, who converted to Christianity, is the first sculptor to receive the "Premio Ratzinger" which has been awarded since 2011
This year's Ratzinger Prize, awarded by a Vatican foundation, goes to the Irish theologian Cyril O'Regan and the Japanese sculptor Etsuro Sotoo. As the Vatican announced on Wednesday, Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin will present the "Premio Ratzinger" on November 22 in the Vatican.
Sotoo taught art in Kyoto and Osaka before visiting the Sagrada Familia basilica under construction in Barcelona in 1978. He converted to Christianity and created numerous sculptures for the largest modern church in Europe, as well as for other churches. He is the first Asian and the first sculptor to receive the Ratzinger Prize. Pope Benedict XVI consecrated the Sagrada Familia basilica during his trip to Spain in 2010. (Older Video on the Conversion of Sotoo)

O'Regan teaches systematic theology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA. He has published numerous texts and lectures on the theology of Joseph Ratzinger.

The Ratzinger Prize has been awarded annually since 2011 for outstanding contributions to scientific-theological discourse. The most recent Austrian recipients were the Viennese biblical scholar Ludger Schwienhorst-Schönberger and the Heiligenkreuz religious philosopher Hanna-Barbara Gerl-Falkovitz in 2021.

The prize winners are proposed to the current Pope by the scientific committee of the "Fondazione Vaticana Joseph Ratzinger - Benedetto XVI". The committee currently includes the Curia Cardinals Kurt Koch, Luis Ladaria and Gianfranco Ravasi as well as Bishop Salvatore Fisichella and the Regensburg Bishop Rudolf Voderholzer.
Source: http://www.fondazioneratzinger.va/content/fondazioneratzinger/it.html