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- Visit of the Holy Father to the Pontifical Gregorian University / 2
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On the morning of Tuesday, November 5, 2024,
the Holy Father Francis went to the Gregoriana
to meet his community, on the occasion
of the Dies Academicus. Pope Francis was greeted
by the Rector of the Gregoriana, Fr. Mark A. Lewis S.J.
We report the full version of their words.
Holy Father,
It is with great emotion that I greet you today, as we celebrate an important moment in the life of the Pontifical Gregorian University, originally known as the Roman College. Institutions such as ours endure and thrive because, while they remain faithful to their founding principles, they also adapt to new realities and opportunities. The incorporation of our three missions, into the vision of one university, offers yet one more example of our adaptation to the concrete realities and needs of the Church today.
The mission of the Collegium Maximum, intends to provide strong intellectual formation for future leaders in the Church with particular attention to the dignity of the human person, the social dimension of faith, care for our common home, openness to the world of culture and science, ecumenical dialogue and relations with other religions, all in an environment that is both international and intercultural reflecting our Church today.
The Pontifical Biblical Institute, founded in 1909 by your predecessor of blessed memory, Pope Saint Pius X and entrusted to the Society of Jesus, is an important center for specialized studies of Sacred Scripture and its related sciences. This specialized mission brings us into contact with scholars from many faith traditions and foments a dialogue that seeks to be both scientific and fruitful.
The Pontifical Oriental Institute, founded in 1917 by your predecessor Pope Benedict XV, (in the context of the founding of the Congregation for the Oriental Church), was entrusted to the Society of Jesus by another predecessor, Pope Pius XI in 1922. Its specific mission is to serve the Eastern Churches as a “suitable seat of higher studies on Oriental matters.” In doing so, we seek to provide a place in Rome where these “Oriental matters” can be studied with adequate resources and ample support.
For us to celebrate our diverse academic accomplishments in Your presence is an honor that allows us to renew our dedication to serve the Roman Pontiff by cultivating the unity of faith which respects the diversity of cultures that distinguishes the Church in its many local settings. Your Holiness will find our alumni in many parts of the world serving the church and society in diverse ways. You may have noticed some of our faculty and alumni facilitating the work of the recent synod, but also laboring with the poor at the margins of the church as well. Also, many of our professors and alumni are honoured to serve in various Dicasteries in Rome.
We rightly note 16 of Your predecessors in the see of St. Peter (17 if you count Pope Benedict who taught here), as well as the many cardinals and bishops who have studied with us, including those like Monsignor Rolando Álvarez who preaches the Gospel with courage and remains in solidarity with his priests, his flock, and all those deprived of their human rights.
Today we also celebrate the Saints and Blessed of the Society of Jesus, many of whom also studied here in Rome. Among the Jesuit saints we celebrate St. Robert Bellarmine, a rector and teacher at the Roman College, Ss. Luigi Gonzaga and Jan Berchmans who died as students here, and we also remember our Servants of God Felix Cappello and Walter Ciszek. We are also proud to ask the intercession of the many other saints who studied here from other ecclesial communities, including the first of our martyrs, St. Ralph Sherwin of the English College, or one of our most recent, St. Oscar Romero of El Salvador. Among the blesseds of the university we certainly invoke Blessed Pope John Paul I, but also the most recent Blessed Luigi Novarese the patron of the suffering. As we invoke these saints and blessed we seek to be inspired by them, to learn the habits of virtue that sustained and sanctified them, and that we wish to remain as an essential part of our work here.
We pray, and ask you to join our prayers, for the advancement of the missions and visions of our university, that we may always be of good service to the Church and her Vicar, and in this way be authentic proclaimers of the Good News. As I close, I anticipate your request for our prayers, and perhaps also your concern for how we might pray for you! I cannot speak for the rest of the university, but I can say that in my personal prayer for you, I ask that you be granted the wisdom you need to govern the Church well, the prayer of Solomon.
I also take a page from what you pray for us, that you too, may have courage and tenderness in your Petrine ministry, courage to say what needs to be said, and the tenderness to encourage reform and reconcile us in the midst our sinfulness.