PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Pope Leo XIV will be this year’s recipient of the Liberty Medal in Philadelphia.<\/p>\n
The National Constitution Center says it will honor the Pontiff on Independence Mall on July 3, the eve of America’s 250th anniversary.<\/p>\n
The award recognizes Pope Leo’s lifelong work promoting religious liberty and freedom of expression, ideals valued by the founding fathers in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n
The Chicago-born Pope, who graduated from Villanova University, will take part virtually and deliver his acceptance remarks live from the Vatican.<\/p>\n
It will be streamed for anyone in attendance on Independence Mall and on the National Constitution Center’s website.<\/a><\/p>\n The Liberty Medal was established in 1988 to commemorate the bicentennial of the U.S. Constitution.<\/p>\n Past recipients include Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Bono, President George W. Bush and Laura Bush, Stephen Spielberg, and the Dalai Lama.<\/p>\n