2025 Seminary Salutes Rerum Novarum Awards
The University of Saint Mary of the Lake/Mundelein Seminary honored local Chicago leaders at the 2025 Seminary Salutes Rerum Novarum Awards on October 28, 2025. This annual event recognizes those who put Catholic Social Teaching into action.
The 33rd Annual Seminary Salutes Rerum Novarum Awards was held at IBEW Local 134 in Chicago and served as a fundraiser to support the formation of seminarians for the Archdiocese of Chicago. The event is centered on the core principles of the 1891 papal encyclical Rerum Novarum: respect for the dignity of human labor, the right to organize, and the right to a living wage.
His Eminence Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago and Honorary Chairperson, presented the Rerum Novarum Awards to Joseph V. Healy, secretary-treasurer of the Laborers’ District Council of Chicago & Vicinity, for Labor; Josephine Terlato-Giannoulias, Terlato Wines International, for Business; and Juan Salgado, chancellor of the City Colleges of Chicago, for Government/Public Service.
Additionally, the university presented the Honorary Rerum Novarum Award to Ruben Ramirez, recognizing his decades of dedicated service and leadership in championing workers’ rights with the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).
Seminary Salutes
Seminary Salutes began in 1991 at St. Joseph College Seminary to help fund the education of college men considering the priesthood. The event recognizes lay men and women who live out Catholic Social Teaching in labor, business, and government, especially by upholding the dignity of people and work, the right to organize, and the right to a living wage. Honorees receive the Rerum Novarum Award from the Archbishop of Chicago during the Seminary Salutes dinner and ceremony. After St. Joseph Seminary closed in 2018, the event moved to Mundelein Seminary at Cardinal Cupich’s request and still raises funds to support young men exploring the priesthood in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
Rerum Novarum
In 1891, Pope Leo XIII issued Rerum Novarum, the Church’s first modern response to social conflicts from 19th-century capitalism and socialism. He warned of growing inequality: “the enormous fortunes of individuals and the poverty of the masses.”
Rerum Novarum established the core principles of Catholic Social Teaching: the dignity of human beings and labor, the right to organize, and the right to a living wage.
Subsequent popes have adapted this tradition to changing times. In the U.S., influential figures advanced these ideals. The Church urges all to uphold these principles together.
Proceeds from the Seminary Salutes event benefit the formation of young men discerning a vocation to the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Chicago. By honoring exemplary individuals, the event serves as a powerful inspiration for future generations of priests. We invite you to continue supporting this crucial mission—your involvement helps sustain the formation of dedicated leaders who serve both the Church and society.
