ROME (Kyodo) -- Sculptor Etsuro Sotoo on Friday became the first Japanese to be awarded the Ratzinger Prize by a Vatican City foundation for his work on the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona, Spain.

Sotoo, 71, is also the first sculptor to win the prize usually awarded to scholars that have stood out for their scientific research in theology. He has been involved for over 40 years in work on the Sagrada Familia, which is still under construction.

A native of Fukuoka in southwestern Japan, Sotoo visited Barcelona in 1978, where he was impressed by the church and asked to work there as a sculptor, following instructions left by celebrated Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi, according the Ratzinger Foundation's website.

His sculptures are featured in several parts of the church as well as elsewhere in Spain, Italy and Japan.

The prize is named after late Pope Benedict XVI, who was born Joseph Ratzinger. According to its statutes, the prize is awarded to "scholars who have distinguished themselves... in the activity of publication and/or scientific research."

In recent years, its scope has been expanded to include the arts practiced with Christian inspiration, according to the website.

The sole other recipient this year was Ireland-born Cyril O'Regan, professor of systematic theology in the Department of Theology at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, the United States, for his numerous publications on theology.