07 luglio 2025
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“Thank you for your warm welcome—and for the great honor of joining you for this wonderful day, and this important occasion: founded on the principles of service, compassion, and rigorous scholarship, Università Cattolica truly stands as a beacon of Catholic intellectual tradition and medical excellence—preparing physicians not only to treat illness, but to serve humanity with dignity and purpose. As this class joins your community of distinguished alumni across the globe, I am certain that their work and practice, wherever it takes them, will serve as an enduring testament to their alma mater” ‒ these were the first words of Professor Amy J. Goldberg, Dean of the Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University in Philadelphia, in the Commencement Speech of the Graduation Day of the Degree Programme in Medicine and Surgery held on 4 July on the Rome Campus of Università Cattolica.
The ceremony was opened by the message of greetings from the Rector of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Professor Elena Beccalli, which was read by Professor Giovanni Gambassi, President of the Degree Programme in Medicine and Surgery: “Congratulations to all the graduates! From today, you will be ambassadors for the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore around the world. The Medicine and Surgery course at Università Cattolica – in collaboration with the Policlinico Gemelli University Hospital - is of a higher standard both nationally and internationally. Its mission is “to teach a profession where medical knowledge becomes clinical competence and integrates professional ethics and social responsibility”. In a few words, this summarizes an ambitious goal, which also echoes the goals of the entire University.”
“Today is the end of a great journey that you will appreciate more in the future, but which I am sure you will soon miss,” Professor Alessandro Sgambato, Vice Dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, told the graduating students. “Now take the time to identify the really important goals, but never give up: do not abandon your dreams, your passions. Always carry with you the values of Università Cattolica: care, compassion and above all respect for the dignity of every human person and for every life. Use your knowledge to promote justice, solidarity and inclusive medicine. In the year of the Jubilee of Hope, never forget that one of the most important duties of a physician is to give hope to the sick. And finally, always be kind: towards patients, their families, colleagues, young students to whom you transfer your knowledge, just as your professors and mentors have done for you over the years.”
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Together with the words of Don Alessandro Mantini, professor of Theology and pastoral assistant on the Rome Campus: “At the beginning of your university journey, we welcomed you in the name of our founders, Agostino Gemelli and Armida Barelli. Above all, we welcomed you in the name of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, to whom this University is consecrated. Learn, therefore, to look into the eyes of your patients and read their hearts as well as the signs on their bodies. Discover their mysteries and their sensitivity. Learn to become their neighbours, for a Medicine increasingly at the service of the human person.”
To all new doctors also Professor Gambassi’s message: “It is likely that most graduates do not have a clear idea of what to do once they have finished their medical studies. Although what we live in may not be the world you expected to enter, it is the one that needs you now.” He concluded: “I hope, that all our new Doctors will find a job that they love in which they can put their skills to good use, a job through which they can really make a difference. The same hope, the same courage that has brought them to this important milestone so far will be an important stimulus to move forward and build a better world for everyone.”
“I first reflect on where we are – where you have chosen to study – in the Eternal City. A place of astonishing history and bastion of enduring humanism," continued Dean Goldberg. “A place where art, religion, philosophy and science have long converged, and have shaped the world’s understanding of what it means to be human. Which makes it the perfect place to begin a life in medicine. Because medicine, too, is a blend of the scientific and the sacred. It is about treating disease, about healing—but more than that, it is about understanding the person who needs to be healed.”
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And touching the deepest and most essential chords of the medical art: “During medical school, you have learned the principles of biochemistry, pharmacology and microbiology. You’ve become adept at diagnosing congestive heart failure, pneumonia, and pyelonephritis. You’ve mastered many of the complexities of science, which will serve as the foundation for your continued mastery of medicine,” said Professor Goldberg. “However, even with these many academic accomplishments, you have only mastered a portion of medicine that embodies our profession. You have experienced a medical education informed and supported by advances in technology that – even ten years ago – we could only have dreamt of. But, as you go forward into your practice you must remember…Medicine is not just a science and Medicine is not only technology. The human connection, the healing presence—that’s the art of medicine. It is the way you speak. The way you listen. It is your courage. Your empathy. Your humility. Your warm touch, and your compassion.”
Before the final ceremony, special mentions were awarded to three graduating students: Sofya Motuz (Student Service Prize), Ilaria Castanò (Valedictorian) and Matteo Manzato (Faculty Award), who then joined all their colleagues for the solemn proclamation of the new graduates.
At the end, together with lecturers, Campus staff and families, a big party to celebrate this new important milestone together. On to new paths, as Dean Goldberg wished the new doctors: “Congratulations. This moment marks the next step in a journey that holds great promise—and great responsibility. Carry it with pride. Lead with your purpose. And above all, practice with your whole humanity. You are ready. Buon viaggio!”
With the knowledge of science and the gaze of humanity, the Auditorium of the Rome campus of Università Cattolica was the place from which to begin a new journey, in which caring and taking care of every sick person will lead the new Doctors to where they have chosen to be and to stay: beside.
