Father Francis D’Britto, aged 71, a Catholic priest from the diocese of Vasai received the National Literary Award for Marathi for “Subodh Bible – Nava Karar.” His Bible translation from English to Marathi was among 23 books India’s top literary committee selected for its prestigious annual awards. This is the first time a Bible translation gets a national award in India in modern times.

The executive board of the Sahitya Akademi met at Ravbindra Bhavan New Delhi under the chairmanship of President Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari on Monday and approved 23 books for the Sahitya translation prize 2013.

The prize will be presented at a special function to be held sometime in August 2014, said an Akademi press release. The prize carries an amount of 50,000 rupees and a copper plaque.

Fr D’Britto, an environmentalist, journalist and author, edits “Suvartha” (good news), a Church monthly magazine in Marathi language. He also writes for local daily newspapers and magazines on God´s love, religious harmony and tolerance, social justice, forgiveness and brotherhood. He writes not only about Jesus Christ but also about Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Jainism and Zoroastrianism, which attracts people of various religions to him. People cutting across religions invite the priests to their seminars on secularism and social issues.

The priest began writing profusely after he launched the Harit (green) Vasai Movement in 1989 to save the environment. He made headlines when he braved threats from unscrupulous developers who used force and intimidation to grab land in the Vasai region.

- Mattersindia