Sponsored by the Catholic Union of Great Britain Charitable Trust, St Maximilian Kolbe House, 63 Jeddo Road, London W12 9EE, [email protected]
This annual Award for Catholic school pupils of secondary school age was launched by The Keys, the Catholic Writers Guild of England of England and Wales in the 1990s and has been flourishing ever since. It is now sponsored by the Catholic Union Charitable Trust. The winners are invited to the Annual Meeting of the Catholic Union, held each Autumn in London, to receive their prizes from the President, Baroness Hollins.
Theme for the 2025 Jubilee Year Award: Jesus Christ, Son of God
Imagine a friend has said to you: “I think Jesus was a great man, and wonderful moral teacher, but I do not accept that he is God.”
Write a response to this, explaining why we know Jesus is who He claimed to be: our Saviour and Redeemer, promised from the beginning. To help you, here is a quotation from CS Lewis, the great Christian writer:
“A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said wouldn’t be a great moral teacher. He’d be either a lunatic on a level with a man who says he’s a poached egg or else he’d be the devil of hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse”. (1952)
In your essay, you should make use of the Scriptures, especially the words of Christ Himself in the Gospels. You should also show evidence of having consulted the Catechism of the Catholic Church and some recent Papal teachings, eg from Pope St John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis.
Notes to entrants:
This Award is open to all young Catholics (and pupils at Catholic schools) in England and Wales in secondary years 8-11 inclusive. There is a cash prize of £50.00 for the best essay, plus a number of runner-up book prizes.
Your essay must be hand written, scanned and emailed to [email protected] We recommend that you make a copy of your essay before sending. Should you have any problems scanning your essay, or need any assistance, please ring 020 8749 1321.
Your essay must include your FULL NAME and the FULL NAME AND POSTAL ADDRESS OF YOUR SCHOOL Deadline for entries: May 30th 2025.