Vatican City – We publish the Message of the Holy Father Leo XIV on the occasion of the opening of the Academic Year of the Pontifical Urbaniana University.
To Cardinal Luis Antonio TAGLE
Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Urbaniana University
On the occasion of the inauguration of the Academic Year and the Jubilee pilgrimage, I am pleased to extend my cordial greetings to the faculty, students, staff, and the entire University. These are two significant moments, which mark the beginning of a new season of study, research and growth and represent important milestones in the educational and spiritual journey.
In this context, I like to imagine what Saint Augustine would recommend today: authentic study should never be an end in itself, but rather a means of elevating the soul toward eternal realities . It is a matter of not considering study a mere intellectual exercise, but a path that leads to Wisdom, in which the truth sought and the God who allows himself to be found come together.
The mission of every university, in fact, goes beyond classrooms and academic curricula and is aimed at serving people, especially where they await words of hope and signs of charity, signs of truth and guarantees of freedom. This is all the more true for your university, which, as the academic continuation of the Pontifical Urban College, has carried the missionary imprint of the universal Church in its identity for some four hundred years.
Since its origins, the Pontifical Urban University, an integral part of the Sacra Congregatio de Propaganda Fide, today the Dicastery for Evangelization, was founded and exists to serve the mission entrusted by Christ to his Church: to proclaim the Gospel to the ends of the earth. The past, present and future of this worthy institution are rooted in the inexhaustible fruitfulness of ecclesial service, lived as a gift and a task.
Your academic community is a living sign of the universality of the Church: women and men from every part of the world, with different languages, cultures, and sensibilities, but united in the same faith. This diversity does not divide, but enriches; it does not generate confusion, but harmony. It is a communion that neither homogenizes nor polarizes, but integrates, for in Christ the baptized are one. Only by being drawn to Christ, the source of communion, it is possible to build an authentic fraternity that opens itself generously to the world, to its wounds, its challenges and its hopes.
I was pleased to learn that, as part of the inauguration of the Academic Year, the Proceedings of the Conference dedicated to the Concilium Sinense, held in Shanghai in 1924, are being presented. That Council represents a milestone in the history of the Church in China, and clearly demonstrates the audacity of a Christian community capable of embodying itself in different historical and cultural contexts, while remaining faithful to its identity.
In thanking you, Venerable Brother, as well as the Papal Delegate acting as Rector, the Professors, and all those who work within this University, I hope that you will live this new Academic Year with dedication, in favour of the students who await your fraternal guidance in their daily and peaceful commitment. With these wishes, I invoke the abundant gifts of the Holy Spirit and, entrusting each one to the maternal intercession of the Virgin Mary, star of evangelization, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.
From the Vatican, October 9, 2025
LEO PP. XIV
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