Villanova Resident Honored by CYO at 18th Annual Hall of Fame Banquet

Villanova resident Barbara D’Iorio Martino, chair of the board of directors of Chestnut Hill College, was honored by the Archdiocesan Office for Youth and Young Adults at the 18th Annual CYO Hall of Fame Banquet on Thursday, March 1.

The Hall of Fame “celebrates individuals who give witness to the Gospel message of Jesus Christ and who serve as excellent Catholic Christian role models for youth and young adults” honored Martino for her lasting contributions to the Catholic community.

Martino has served as a leader and a volunteer in various capacities to local Catholic schools and to Chestnut Hill College. She has served on the executive committee of the Alumni Fundraisers of St. Joseph’s University, as president of the Mother’s Club at St. Joseph’s Preparatory School, an officer in the Parents’ Association of St. Aloysius Academy, a volunteer on many committees sponsored by the Philadelphia Archdiocese, and a foundation worker for the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome.

Martino has been honored as a Lady in the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulcher of Jerusalem and received the Papal Honor of the Cross from the Vatican.

Her volunteer and philanthropic efforts at Chestnut Hill encompass more than 30 years of service. At the College, she has served as a class officer, a fund agent, an officer of the Alumnae Association’s DelMo Club (Delaware and Montgomery County Alumni Chapter), and has served as president from 1978-79. She served on the Alumnae Association Board of Directors in the late ’70s and early ’80s and served as president from 1982-1984. She later served as a director-at-large for four years.

Barbara and her husband Rocco Martino’s leadership gift to the Capital Gifts Initiative, represented today by Martino Hall, resulted in the first new building on the campus in more than 40 years, enabling students to enjoy a first-class facility for athletics, academics, and technology. She was re-appointed to her leadership role on the board in 2010.

In addition to the recognition Barbara has received from many organizations for her good works and generosity, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Neumann College and from her alma mater in 1995. For her outstanding leadership and dedication to her alma mater, she was the recipient of the Eleanore Dolan Egan ’28 Award for Outstanding Service to Chestnut Hill College in 2004. In 2001, she was the recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award in Philanthropy. Those honors were followed in 2005 by her naming as a charter member of the Libris Society, one of 80 outstanding alums nominated by other alums, faculty, staff, family, and friends based on one or more of the qualities celebrated in the College motto of Fides -Caritas –Scientia (Faith-Charity-Knowledge).