Pope Francis visited Rome’s 16th-century Gregorian University on Tuesday, where he highlighted its mission in today’s world.
Vatican News
Rome, Wednesday, November 6, 2024 (REI): Earlier this year, the Pontifical Gregorian University, a renowned Jesuit-led institution founded by Saint Ignatius in the 16th century, merged with the Pontifical Biblicum and the Oriental Institutes.
On Tuesday, November 5, Pope Francis visited the newly merged institution and gave a lengthy speech to the assembled faculty, staff, and students.
return to the origin
In his speech, the Pope reflected on the sign that hung on the door of a 16th century Jesuit house in the center of Rome that one day became a Roman College and later a Gregorian University.
“The sign said: “School of Grammar, Humanities and Christian Doctrine,” the Pope said.
He asked: “What can we learn today from this simple gesture?” The first lesson, he said, comes from the mix of disciplines that the Jesuits offered, mixing theological sciences with the humanities. He suggested that today it could be read as an invitation to “humanize the religious sciences, to kindle and revive the spark of grace in humanity.”
The second lesson, the Pope said, “can be drawn from the fact that the classes were given without paying anything.”
The Pope said it is freedom that “opens us to the wonders of God… It is freedom that teaches without manipulation, that rejoices in growth and that stimulates the imagination.”
‘Beggar of knowledge’
Pope Francis also emphasized the need for humility in Catholic teaching.
For too long, he said, “sacred science has let everyone else down,” with an “us versus each other” mentality, an approach that, he said, has led to “many mistakes.” The Pope said now is the time for the Church’s teachers to “be humble, accept that we do not know everything… It is a complex world and research requires the contribution of everyone.” What is needed, the Pope urged, are universities that have “less hierarchy, more tables side by side, all beggars of knowledge, touching the wounds of history.”
a comprehensive approach
Reflecting on the recent merger of the Gregorian University, the Pope said he had given this approval in the hope that it would not be a case of “mere administrative reorganization” but an opportunity to “redefine its mission.”
In this sense, the Pope warned university staff not to limit themselves to “mergers, suspensions and closures” without “a broader vision of what is happening in the world and in the Church.” The Pope asked: “Have you asked yourself where you are going and why you do what you do? You must know where you are going and not lose sight of the horizon.”
