Francesc Torralba, professor at the La Salle-URL Faculty of Philosophy, has been recognized with the Ratzinger prize 2023. The award has been awarded since 2010 by the Vatican Foundation Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI to the most important figures in theology and, in fact, it is considered the Nobel Prize in the discipline. Francesc Torralba has been distinguished for his extensive career as an expert in philosophical anthropology, ethics and theology.
“This award is an impulse and a positive energy that I receive, that I am grateful for and that drives me to continue working and developing intellectual activity within the Church and the world,” Torralba declared on Ràdio Estel once the recognition was announced. In February, the professor at the Faculty of Philosophy and Director of the ETHOS-URL Chair already received recognition from the Vatican when he was appointed by Pope Francis as a member of the dicastery for Culture and Education, a consulting body to which only 34 people are members, three of whom –Torralba among them– are secular people.
The Ratzinger Prize is awarded, as explained by the Vatican Foundation Joseph Ratzinger-Benedict XVI, to "scholars who have distinguished themselves by particular merits in publications or scientific research", and this year it was also awarded to the philologist and theologian Pablo Blanco. The Secretary of State of the Holy See, Pietro Barolin, will hand over both recognitions on November 30 in the Sala Regia of the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican.