Doctoral student Joryán Hernández to receive inaugural Sr. Dianna Ortiz, OSU Peacemaker Award
Joryán Hernández, a peace studies and theology doctoral student at the University of Notre Dame, was tapped as the first-ever recipient of the Sr. Dianna Ortiz, OSU Peacemaker Award from Pax Christi USA, the national Catholic peace movement.
Hernández will be recognized on July 26 as part of the organization’s national conference in Detroit, July 25-27.
“I am genuinely honored to have been chosen for this award,” said Hernández, “and I share this recognition with those committed to justice and peacebuilding.
“None of this work happens alone, and I am deeply grateful and committed to continuing to learn and walk this path toward peace.”
The Pax Christi USA national council voted to create the award earlier this year, to be given annually to a young adult (under 40) whose life and work exemplifies the commitment to justice, contemplative presence, faith-based activism, compassion, and prophetic nonviolence exemplified by Sr. Dianna Ortiz, OSU, who died in 2021. She received the Pax Christi USA Teacher of Peace award in 2000, and later served as program director and internship program coordinator from 2009-2012, and deputy director from 2020-2021, before her death from cancer.
This year's award was made possible by the generous support of the Ursuline Sisters of Mount St. Joseph in Kentucky, the community to which Sr. Dianna belonged. The order is known for its commitment to justice and contemplative presence as part of its spiritual charism.
Hernández has been active with campus activities in solidarity with the Palestinian people, which was noted within his nomination by Pax Christi Young Adult Caucus leader Jessica Sun.
“[Joryán is] a leader at the University of Notre Dame among the courageous campus protesters who risk everything in order to stand for human rights, peace, and nonviolence – the values Jesus champions and that Pax Christi stands for,” Sun wrote.
“What Joryán and so many courageous students around the country stood for is the embodiment of what Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King dreamed of.”
Hernández’s academic research explores how theologies of resistance can actualize radical changes to repressive conditions in authoritarian regimes, and how religious institutions can play a role in the political process of liberation.
Hernández is pursuing a joint doctoral degree with the Department of Theology and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs at Notre Dame. He is the recipient of the Joseph Gaia Distinguished Fellowship in Latino Studies from the University.
Originally published by at kroc.nd.edu on July 22, 2025.
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