Manique, Portugal - June 2019 - Deacon Joaquim Antunes, SDB, collaborator of the Apostolic Nunciature and director of the Salesian Bulletin of Portugal, was awarded the cross "Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice", assigned to him by Pope Francis. The cross and certificate were presented by Fr José Aníbal Mendonça, Superior of the Salesian Province of Portugal, on 29 June during the provincial festival. Fr Mendonça underscored the great work carried out by Deacon Antunes in the many years of collaboration with the Apostolic Nunciature, and in the direction of the SB magazine, which is considered one of the most prestigious of the Salesian Congregation. The cross "for the Church and for the Pope" is an honorary order created by Pope Leo XIII on 17 July 1888, known as the Cross of Honor, and is attributed to clerics and lay people who provide significant services to the Church.