POPE JOHN PAUL II RECEIVES FAO'S AGRICOLA MEDAL FOR EFFORTS TO FIGHT HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION

Press Release
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POPE JOHN PAUL II RECEIVES FAO'S AGRICOLA MEDAL FOR EFFORTS TO FIGHT HUNGER AND MALNUTRITION

ROME, 15 October (FAO) -- Pope John Paul II received today the Agricola medal struck in his honour by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in recognition of the Pontiff's "continuous struggle against hunger and malnutrition and his demonstrated concern for the plight of mankind's poor, and for peace in the world".

The FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf presented the medal to the Pope during an audience at the Vatican one day ahead of the twentieth anniversary of John Paul II's Pontificate and World Food Day, 16 October, which also marks the fifty-third anniversary of the founding of the FAO.

The Agricola medal features a portrait of the Pope on one side, and the other bears the words: "Daily bread -- condition of the world peace" together with symbols depicting fish and grain, two of the most important sources of food. Italian artist Orietta Rossi designed the medal.

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