Contact: Office of Communications, 305-285-0800, jcalvo1142@ordendemaltacuba.com; www.ordendemaltacuba.com  

MIAMI, Nov. 9 /Christian Newswire/ --  On Saturday, October 24, the Tuitio Fidei Award was given to Mr. H. James Towey, a native of South Florida, because of his work with the poor and infirm. He is currently President of St. Vincent College, a Catholic, Benedictine college in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The ceremony took place at the Doral Golf and Spa Resort Hotel in Miami, Florida, during the White Cross Ball of the Cuban Association of the Order of Malta.

The Cuban Association of the Order of Malta instituted the Tuitio Fidei Award in order to recognize and honor those who through their public actions witness the principles of our Faith. The recipients are honored because they live their life, public and private, consistent with the demands of our Faith notwithstanding the public condemnation. Previous recipients include the Hon. Mel Martinez, former Senator from Florida, H. E. Sean Cardinal O'Malley, the Cardinal-Archbishop of Boston and Mr. Thomas S. Monahan, Chancellor of Ave Maria University, South Florida's newest private institution of higher learning.

The White Cross Ball is our annual fund raising event where the Tuitio Fidei Award is presented to its distinguished recipients.

Mr. Towey, who served for four years as Assistant to the President of the United States and director of the Office of FaithBased and Community Initiatives, was recognized by President George Bush for his work to improve the lives of those in need.

As President of Saint Vincent College, Mr. Towey serves as the Chief Executive Officer of an educational institution that has been recognized by Forbes magazine as one of America's Best Colleges. With nearly 2,000 students, Saint Vincent has experienced renewed vitality under Mr. Towey's leadership. A frequent speaker to groups and organizations all over the United States, Mr. Towey has spoken or lectured at Harvard, Yale, Notre Dame, Dartmouth, Georgetown, Davidson and other distinguished colleges and universities.

At the White House, Mr. Towey served as a member of President George W. Bush's senior staff and reported directly to him on church-state and religious liberty issues. Prior to his work at the White House, Mr. Towey in 1996 founded Aging with Dignity, a national non-profit organization to help individuals and their families plan for and receive appropriate care during times of serious illness.

Mr. Towey served in the administration of Florida Governor Lawton Chiles who brought him to Miami in 1991 as District Director of the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services where he presided during the time of Hurricane Andrew. He later became Secretary of the 40,000 employee agency.

Mr. Towey represented the late Mother Teresa on legal matters in the United States and Canada for 12 years (from 1985 until her death) and traveled with her on numerous occasions. He served nearly two years as a fulltime volunteer in Mexico in one of Mother Teresa's missions and in her Washington, D.C. home for people with AIDS. For the past three years he has returned to Calcutta with Saint Vincent College students to work in her missions.

A 1978 graduate of the Florida State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree with high honors, Mr. Towey earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Florida State University College of Law in 1981.

Mr. Towey grew up in Jacksonville, Florida. He and his wife, Mary, have five children.

The Order of Malta is the third oldest lay religious order of the Catholic Church, having been established in 1048. Since its humble beginnings in the Holy Land, this Order and its members have dedicated themselves to serving the poor and the sick, particularly in the area of health care. This tradition of service is maintained today by the approximately 12,500 members and over 80,000 volunteers working in over 120 countries. It operates ambulance corps, blood banks, clinics, hospitals, refugee camps, and disaster relief operations. You can learn more about the Order at www.orderofmalta.org.

The Cuban Association was established in 1952. It was reorganized in Miami, Florida in 1990, where new activities were established for the poor and the elderly in cooperation with the local Catholic Church. Presently it has 113 Knights, Dames and Chaplains, including three living in Cuba.

Our volunteer doctors have served in Miami, Florida, at the San Juan Bosco parish clinic-Our Lady of Philermo- for many years; the Cuban Association also conducts medical missions to the Dominican Republic and to other countries of the Caribbean and Central America. We work closely with the Catholic Church in Cuba since 1996, currently funding thirty - seven elderly support centers, living facilities for retired priests, and hospitals and other institutions, including one which serves children suffering from Down's syndrome. You can learn more about the Cuban Association at www.ordendemaltacuba.com.