The great heart of our University increasingly opens to the world

Your Reverend Excellency, as is tradition, we gather in the Basilica of St. Ambrose to commence the Day dedicated to the Inauguration of the Academic Year 2024-2025 with the Eucharistic Celebration. I extend to you the warmest greetings and heartfelt thanks for your presence on behalf of the entire community of Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, gathered here with the Rector Prof. Elena Beccalli, the Academic Senate, the General Manager and the representatives of the professors, students, pastoral assistants, and administrative-technical staff. We are also grateful to the civil and military authorities who, along with many friends of the University, share in this moment of prayer, which will be followed by the Academic Act. We also express our gratitude to Msgr. Faccendini for welcoming us to this Basilica, to which the University is intimately linked.

At the beginning of this celebration, we must remember again Prof. Fausto Colombo, a prominent figure in our University, appreciated by all for his scientific expertise, human sensitivity and spiritual depth. Just yesterday, in this Basilica, we paid our final respects to him, accompanying him in prayer towards meeting with the Heavenly Father. On this occasion, we wish to remember all the beloved members of our academic community who have left us in this recent period, including Rector Prof. Franco Anelli. We remember him with gratitude for the significant work he accomplished in service to the University while we continue to entrust his soul to the merciful embrace of the Lord.

The past few months have seen the initiation of Rector Beccalli’s term, for whom the entire University holds great esteem and trust, confident that she will lead this prestigious academic institution towards increasingly significant goals, thanks to the collaboration of all constituents of this community that we feel to be a true family, a qualified expression of the Church's educational mission and a precious instrument for forming individuals who can contribute with their competencies and moral stature to addressing the complex issues of our time.

We are encouraged in this important service by the synodal impetus that is animating the life of the Universal Church and also the journey of the Churches in Italy, to which our University too is contributing significantly. The final document of the Second Session of the 16th Ordinary Assembly of the Synod reiterates that “Catholic schools and universities play an important role in the dialogue between faith and culture and in providing moral education on values, offering a formation oriented towards Christ, the icon of life in its fullness.” (No. 146).

It is this "life in fullness" that we seek to nurture each day and desire to offer, especially to the new generations, to whom we turn with confidence and hope, as suggested by the jubilee event that is positively marking not only the ecclesial climate but also the cultural and social context. As Pope Francis remined us in the Bull of Indiction, young people “often see their dreams and aspirations frustrated. We must not disappoint them, for the future depends on their enthusiasm.” For this reason, “the Jubilee should inspire the Church to make greater efforts to reach out to them. With renewed passion, let us demonstrate care and concern for adolescents, students and young couples, the rising generation. Let us draw close to the young, for they are the joy and hope of the Church and of the world!” (Spes non confundit, No. 12).

We feel the same passion for our students, and aspire to the same dedication that our founders exhibited, inspired by the Sacred Heart to which they consecrated the University. We are helped in understanding how relevant and valuable such a reference is now by Pope Francis' latest encyclical letter Dilexit nos, dedicated precisely to the Heart of Christ. From His open side also comes the high measure of our commitment to contribute to social renewal and build that "Civilisation of Love" which, writes the Pope, needs “a “mystique”, a soul, a meaning that grants [them] strength, drive and tireless creativity. [They] need the life, the fire and the light that radiate from the heart of Christ.” (No. 184).

Guided by this vision, the great heart of our University increasingly opens to the world, and this year, it looks particularly to Africa, a continent stricken and still marked by serious imbalances and difficulties, but also the beating heart of the planet that nurtures the youngest energies and the greatest hopes. With this concrete and supportive outlook, we wish to counter the distrust and fatigue that often cloud our faces and embitter our lives. We ask you, Your Excellency, for a special blessing for all of us, just as you did in your address for the feast of St. Ambrose when you stated: “I bless all of you who dedicate yourselves to educating and sowing the reasons to desire to become adults, nurturing upright consciences, available for responsibility and service.” Thank you, Bishop Mario, for the attention and care you dedicate to our University.