Victoria Demanuele, a former teacher of Italian who became secretary to Mgr Michael Azzopardi when he founded Villa Mgr Gonzi, the Siggiewi home for the handicapped, has won this year`s Mgr Azzopardi Award.

She was presented with the award after Mass at the Dar tal-Providenza, as the homes are known today, by homes director Mgr Lawrence Gatt, yesterday.

The award was bestowed on Ms Demanuele by a special committee formed by the homes in recognition of her work for the home and the underprivileged.

Together with her husband, she had taken up residence at the Siggiewi home in order to cope better with her work, especially during the early difficult months after Mgr Azzopardi set up Villa Mgr Gonzi.

Ms Demanuele, 88, spent 47 years teaching Italian first at government secondary schools and then at St Joseph`s schools at Paola and Blata l-Bajda. After a break she resumed her teaching career for another 17 years with the Salesians at Savio College, Dingli.

In the meantime she was the assistant to her late husband, Joseph, who was editor of a fortnightly children`s publication, the "Children`s Own`.

Ms Demanuele, the mother of five children, was one of the first members of the Malta Catholic Action and had served on the movement`s committee of the Commission for the Sick and Persons with Disability since its foundation by Mgr Azzopardi in 1948.

Ms Demanuele still takes part in all the activities organised by the Commission for the Sick and Persons with Disability, and teaches religion to children in her parish at St Julian`s.

The previous winners of the award are Dr Lawrence Gonzi and Mrs Mari Lowell (1955), Mr Paul Mifsud and Mr Lewis Portelli (1997), Fr Manuel Curmi (1998), Fr Charles Fenech (1999), Mr Joe Camilleri (2000) and Dr Carmelo Vella (2001).