U.S. Rep. Chris Smith and his wife, Marie Smith, director of the Parliamentary Network for Critical Issues, were the recipients of the 2014 University of Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal last month.

The occasion included Mass celebrated by Archbishop Allen Vigneron of Detroit in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, located on the campus of the University of Notre Dame.

The Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal honors individuals whose efforts have served to proclaim the Gospel of Life by steadfastly affirming and defending the sanctity of human life from its early stages.

“Chris and Marie Smith have dedicated their lives to promoting the Culture of Life in the public square,” said Carter Snead, William P. and Hazel B. White director of the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture. “Through their tireless efforts to battle human trafficking and promote human rights, particularly by the right to life of the unborn, Chris and Marie Smith provide a powerful witness to the dignity of all human life. We are honored to award them the Notre Dame Evangelium Vitae Medal.”

Upon accepting the award, Congressman Smith offered thanks for “this special honor…and that goes double for my wife, Marie, who has made an enormous, enduring difference over four decades in the struggle to defend the vulnerable. Like some of the other great leaders in the pro-life movement, Marie tenaciously, selflessly and effectively promotes the culture of life as service to God and neighbor – expecting nothing whatsoever in return.”

The congressman went on to say, “What was once constructed as right and honorable and good, now, all of a sudden is labeled wrong. To defend Judeo-Christian values in modern times, especially in the public square, makes both our message and our mere physical presence unwanted and unwelcomed.”

“Yet our faith in Christ comes with the holy burden to be truth tellers….,” Congressman Smith said. “Pope Francis reminds us that we have a duty to evangelize – to lead others to the kingdom of heaven, forgive when forgiveness seems difficult or even impossible and to radiate Christ to the poor and marginalized.”

“Both my dear wife, Marie, and I have been in the pro-life movement for well over 40 years,” said Congressman Smith. “We, like you, believe the culture is changing in the right direction, albeit slowly, and that the younger generation is emerging as the most pro-life ever. These new faith-filled idealists including so many here at Notre Dame, take seriously our Lord’s command to treat the ‘least of these’ as God himself.”