Francis Is 1st Pope to Receive Charlemagne Prize; Awarded Each Year to Europe Unification Backer

Tomorrow Pope Francis will become the first Pope to receive the Charlemagne Prize, awarded each year since 1950 to individuals or institutions for their service to European unification, the Catholic News website reports today (May 5, 2016).

St. John Paul, and now Francis, are the only religious leaders to receive the recognition, even though its origins include a Christian element.

Francis -- an Argentine native -- is also the first leader from the global south to receive the Charlemagne Prize, and only the fourth non-European, with the other three being from the United States: George C. Marshall (1959), Henry Kissinger (1987), and Bill Clinton (2000).

Many observers expect Francis to deliver a hard-hitting speech when he accepts the prize, especially given that he has made the European refugee crisis his top social and political priority for 2016.