15 November 2024 – The Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) is thrilled to announce that two representatives of JRS’s Romania office have been awarded $100,000 as part of the prestigious Opus Prize programme.

The Opus Prize, given annually by the Opus Prize Foundation of Minnetonka, USA, recognises individuals or organisations championing faith-filled change. Each year, three finalists receive a total of $1,200,000.

At a ceremony last night at Santa Clara University, the preeminent Jesuit university in northern California, Bianca Albu, Senior Manager for programmes at JRS in Bucharest, accepted the award on behalf of herself and her husband, JRS Romania General Manager Cătălin Albu, alongside the two other impressive finalists.

The Albus were named finalists based on their work to integrate the growing number of people arriving in Romania from the Middle East, Asia, and elsewhere in Europe. JRS Romania meets the needs of displaced people with a commitment to “seamless integration” and services such as legal guidance, accommodation, mental health care, language courses, and skill development. The largest church-based responder to the Ukrainian crisis in the country, JRS Romania has quadrupled the number of people served since the war started, aiding over 39,000 people in 2023 alone. JRS Romania’s work accompanying and serving asylum seekers, refugees, and temporary protection holders has set the standard for this type of work throughout the country.

JRS Romania’s work has been supported by the JRS International Office, JRS/USA, other JRS offices in Europe, and other affiliated organisations via The One Proposal, the coordinated response from the Society of Jesus to the displacement caused by the war in Ukraine.

“Everything we do, we manage to do because we are not alone. We have a wonderful team with skilled and dedicated staff, and we have support from so many reliable and dedicated partners; the joint effort takes us further,” said Bianca Albu. “It was a great honor to be nominated, to be amongst such impressive finalists, and to visit this beautiful place. We are forever grateful, especially in this sensitive moment for Ukrainian refugees and all of us in the region.”

“The global JRS family is incredibly grateful for the recognition of JRS Romania’s mission,” said Br. Michael Schöpf SJ, JRS International Director. “It is a testimony to the long-standing dedication and the innovative skills of Bianca, Cătălin, staff members and the hundreds of volunteers who accompany thousands of Ukrainian families every day. JRS Romania’s work is a true example of a commitment in action that can change lives – the lives of refugees and ours as well. Occasions like this remind us that strength lies in unity and not in isolation. We can achieve results and find hope only together, both in times of need and in everyday life.”