09 November 2026
On Saturday, November 7, 2026, at Campo Santo Teutonico in Rome, the International Martin Luther Foundation awarded the LutherRose for social responsibility and entrepreneurial courage to the Italian church historian Professor Dr. Alberto Melloni.
The award ceremony took place as part of the annual Luther Conference at the Church of Santa Maria della Pietà on the Campo Santo Teutonico in Rome. With this award, the Foundation honors individuals who, through their work, champion the Reformation tradition of freedom, responsibility, and the common good. It commemorates the Reformation’s principle that freedom should not be viewed as an end in itself, but rather should be linked to responsibility for others and for the common good. Through this award, the Foundation aims to provide impetus for a values-oriented approach to shaping society and the economy.
Alberto Melloni is a professor of the history of Christianity at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, secretary of the Giovanni XXIII Foundation for the Religious Studies (FSCIRE), and holder of the UNESCO Chair on Religious Pluralism and Peace at “La Sapienza” University in Rome. His scholarly work focuses, among other things, on the history of Christianity and the development of ecclesiastical institutions, as well as on issues of ecumenism, interreligious dialogue, and religious pluralism. Through his research and his commitment to interreligious and interdenominational dialogue, he helps to explore the historical foundations of religious traditions and to reflect on their significance for the present day.
Herman Selderhuis and Alberto Melloni with the LutherRose 2026.
The 2026 Luther Conference was held under the theme “No Lasting City -The Entrepreneur as Pilgrim.” The panel discussion focused on questions of direction, responsibility, and entrepreneurial action. Heinrich Otto Deichmann (Deichmann SE), Ute Hofmann (Laika Caravans) and Markus Krienke (Faculty of Theology, Lugano) discussed perspectives from the fields of business and social ethics.
The conference was followed by the ceremony for the presentation of the LutherRose. In his keynote, Herman Selderhuis argued that Willy (Willibrord), Martin (Martin Luther) and Alberto (Alberto Melloni) demonstrated the need for a closer cooperation and exchange between theology and business, between the study of religion and the practice of the market. Selderhuis: “These three were and are no dreamers, no utopians, but they as theologians had a vision and because of that they took action, actions that served the university and the church, that served culture and society, actions that had an impact on the political and the economical world. We need such academic entrepreneurs, professors who need to stay in their ivory tower to think and than need to leave the ivory tower to serve.”
In his acceptance speech, Alberto Melloni addressed the rise of anti-semitism and how to deal with it. “The anguish of the historian today is that the speed with which antisemitism is recomposing itself into a political theology full of terrible energy seems to say not that his work was in vain, but that there is nothing useful left to do. Yet perseverance in this craft – the stubborn conviction that critical rigour can balance ideological fury, if not today then tomorrow – is the only antidote to that sense of impotence. And what can be done for this and the next generation is to plant trees, that in my domain means feeding a generation with knowledges and instruments.” Churches can also play a role here, according to Melloni: “… a will that comes from the conscience and the need to resist and from the historical awareness that antisemitism ignites in a second and goes out in a millennium, because it knows how to find theological reasons to feed itself: an impious, unsaubere Geist, that contaminates the earth on which it burns.”
Acceptance speech LutherRose 2026 Alberto Melloni
Alberto Melloni
Visual: © Christiane Claus | Fotografie. Left to right: Ulrich Born, Rita Cucchiara, Alberto Melloni, Michael J. Inacker, Friedrich Kramer and Herman Selderhuis
