Lisa receives special award from Casa Romero

The Rutilio Grande award, or the “Tilo,” takes its name from Padre Rutilio Grande S.J., lifelong friend and associate of Archbishop Oscar Romero.  Grande served as a pastoral minister to over 30,000 villagers of Aguilares during the 1970’s. Grande was truly recognized as “one of the people.” He worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor and disenfranchised. On March 12, 1977, Grande and his companions were martyred on the roadside, just beyond the town.  Grande’s lifelong work and death transformed Romero and are often viewed as a catalyst for the Archbishop’s own interest for the poor of Salvador. The “Tilo” award is presented to individuals who, like Padre Grande, dedicate their lies to selfless effort and advocacy on the part of those who have no voice.

On 24 April, 2010, Casa Romero presented the Rutilio Grande award to Dr. Lisa-Marie Calderone-Stewart, during “Noche Bajo Las Estrellas,” (An Evening Under the Stars), their fundraiser held at Serb Hall in Milwaukee.

Their program booklet had these words, “Similar to Rutilio Grande, Dr. Calderone-Stewart and her life’s work are a catalyst for change in the greater Milwaukee area… We are especially grateful to Lisa, who over the course of her career has labored tirelessly in support of youth and families in our community.”

Fr. David Shields, the executive director of Casa Romero, and Brenda Rodriquez, their program director, both said wonderful things about Lisa before presenting her with the award.

Lisa has been involved with Casa Romero since 2003. She wrote three retreat programs for Casa Romero, had facilitated several events for both youth and adults, and served on the Casa program committee by writing grant proposals and designing evaluation materials to be used in grant proposals.

Click here to see pictures and read about the “Teamwork Head to Toe” at Casa Romero.

Click here to see pictures and read about the Milestone retreats offered at Casa Romero.

Click here to visit the Casa Romero website.