Brother Richard Hirbe and the Friars of the Sick Poor of Los Angeles were honored last weekend with the annual Brotherhood Award, presented annually by the archdiocese for outstanding service.

Cardinal Roger Mahony made the presentation at the annual dinner for religious brothers, held at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels Conference Center.

The Friars of the Sick Poor of Los Angeles, founded in 2002 as a diocesan community, work among the sick poor, assisting them to find redemptive meaning in their suffering and pain. Brother Hirbe had been a member of the Brothers for Christian Community for 15 years prior to founding the Friars of the Sick Poor. Last June, Cardinal Mahony ordained the community's first priest, Father James Halley, who is chaplain at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood