Mary Rice Hasson receives Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice from Pope Leo XIV

Mary Rice Hasson has been a three-time keynote speaker for the Vatican at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. She currently serves as the Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center in Washington, D.C., and is a graduate of Notre Dame Law School. / Credit: Rui Barros Photography

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 13, 2025 / 14:14 pm (CNA).

Catholic researcher and speaker Mary Rice Hasson will receive the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice from Pope Leo XIV, a papal honor recognizing distinguished service to the Catholic Church.

“I’m truly humbled and grateful to receive this honor from Pope Leo XIV, who reminds us that faith lies at the heart of our mission,” Hasson said in a statement. “It’s an honor to serve the Church.” 

The Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice (“For the Church and the Pontiff”), first established by Pope Leo XIII in 1888, is a decoration of the Holy See conferred for dedication to the Church by laypeople and clergy.

It was originally bestowed on men and women who promoted the jubilee and assisted in making the Vatican Exposition successful.

“I’m blessed to be able to integrate my faith and work in a way that serves the Church, and to work alongside so many others with similar commitments,” Hasson told CNA. 

“My personal inspiration, and the touchstone for my service to the Church, comes from Pope St. John Paul II who wrote (in Christifideles Laici) that women have been entrusted with ‘assuring the moral dimension of culture.’”

Hasson is currently a Kate O’Beirne Senior Fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and serves as director and co-founder of its Person and Identity Project, an initiative that assists the Church “in promoting the Catholic vision of the human person and responding to the challenges of gender ideology.”

She is also a visiting fellow for the Veritas Center at Franciscan University, an attorney, and a policy expert. Hasson has been a keynote speaker for the Holy See during the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women three times and is a consultant to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for its Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth and Committee on Religious Liberty.

The Diocese of Arlington, Virginia, announced that Bishop Michael Burbidge will formally grant the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice to Hasson and fellow honorees at a private ceremony in September.

The diocese reported it “rejoices that our Holy Father Pope Leo XIV has bestowed papal honors on 50 members of the diocesan faithful, concluding our 50th anniversary golden jubilee.”

Hasson is one of 10 people who will receive the cross, and another 40 will receive the Benemerenti Medal, another papal award that was established by Pope Pius VI.