Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - On 1 August 1627 Pope Urban VIII with the Bull "Immortalis Dei Filius" created Urban College, first nucleus of the system of education of the Congregation de Propaganda Fide which with passing centuries led to the constitution in 1962 of the Pontifical Urban University. From the beginning Urban College was an institute with a missionary character at the service of the Church and her missionary-apostolic mandate, particularly with regard to the formation of missionaries or experts in the sector of Missiology and other disciplines necessary for the evangelising activity of the Church. On 12 October, 2006, Urban College inaugurated its 379th Academic Year at the service of the Church’s “Missio ad gentes” to announce hope to peoples and lead them to know God who is love .
Missionary service is born of docile listening and obedience to God’s Word and His love and compassion above all for the poorest of the poor. Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples and Grand Chancellor of Urban University recalled in his address when he inaugurated the academic year for the first time. Presiding a solemn Mass in the College Chapel, in his homily the Cardinal spoke of the significance of love as a service and gift of self. “Faced with evil and death which does not spare even the Son of God, Jesus shows us that the only victory over evil and death is love. A love - the Cardinal recalled - so simple and extreme that it challenges. Today in life people often search for another greatness, that of the role, possessions, power over others, importance, recognition. At the school of the only master, Jesus, we are invited to listen to and put into practice with humility the Gospel of compassion, service kindness and love”. (see Fides 13/10/2006).
In his address to introduce the academic act which opened the academic year 2006/07 the Cardinal expressed encouragement and esteem. “Although I am a new Prefect of Propaganda, diplomatic service led me to live the unique spirit of this Congregation which opens our eyes to the whole world, especially there where the Catholic Church is still under construction or is in a minority situation (…) This is why a realise how important it is to have a universal vision, not to be restricted by our own limited horizons, focussing on our own needs, which at times become demands and make us forget why we are here in Rome. The academic and human space of a university such as ours helps us to live this spirit, both because it communicates the teaching of the Church which brings with it a taste for an ancient wisdom rooted in Scripture and Tradition, and, because it allows us to meet, to travel every day a human itinerary among faces and among stories we are called to discover”.
Mgr Ambrogio Spreafico, Magnific Rector of the University, following the indications offered by Cardinal Dias, spoke of the missionary and inter-cultural vocation of Urban College and the scientific, formative and ecclesial activity of an institution which is four hundred years old, but profoundly new in didactics, statutes and regulation. A pluralist reality with 1400 students from 100 different countries and 89 affiliated institutes in Africa, Asia, America, Oceania and Europe. A University attentive to the new needs of the Church which participates in a network of international exchange and recognition inaugurated in 1999 by the Universities of Europe with the Declaration of Bologna. Mgr Spreafico underlined the importance of commitment to cultural dialogue and testimony to which Urban College is called: “Within perspectives of research and discussion I asked the different faculties to plan for the next academic year moments of study, seminars or meetings, on themes of the present day cultural and theological debate, keeping in mind the areas par excellence of our institution which, on the basis of information, must interrogate itself on the problems of mission, the gospel announcement and the Church’s relations with religions and cultures”.
With its four faculties, Philosophy, Theology, Canon Law and Missiology, and two Higher Institutes (Study of Non Belief, Religion and Culture- I.S.A., and Istituto Superiore di Catechesi e Spiritualità Missionaria - ISCSM), and the presence of Scalabrini International Migration Institute (SIMI) and numerous special courses in languages, ancient and modern, the Pontifical Urban University offers sound and comprehensive formation at the cultural, theological, pastoral and missionary level. In particular the specialisations offered by the different Faculties are an opportunity for deeper study of the subjects mentioned by Mgr. Spreafico: cultural and religious philosophy, specialisation in Biblical Theology, study of Eastern and Missionary Canon Law, Missiology Specialisation in Mission and Religions, are only a few of the numerous courses offered.
The service to the Church’s mission finds in the University a place of research and formation, a place where missionary study and commitment may acquire the necessary foundation and adequate human and spiritual depth. Prof. Paolo Miccoli, who during the Academic Act led reflection on the anthropological and theological significance of the Encyclical Deus Caritas est, recalled that the mission of evangelisation and human promotion calls for the capacity to see with intelligence the revelation of God and his love, a capacity to see with the eyes of the heart as which Pope Benedict XVI writes. “Love is possible, and we are able to practise it - the Pope writes in the encyclical - because we are created in the image of God.” (n.39). (L.P.) (Agenzia Fides 7/11/2006 - Righe 68; Parole 945)
