In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Peace be with you!

Good morning to you all, and welcome. I will try to go a little quickly, because I would like to greet everyone personally. In this way, we can also share a moment of fraternity, in the context of this Jubilee, of your presence here in Rome.

I greet the President of the Organization of Catholic Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean, Father Anderson Antonio Pedroso, S.J. – welcome – and all the members of ODUCAL who, performing different roles, serve the educational mission of the Church.

Your pilgrimage to Rome for the Jubilee of the World of Education is a visible sign of the bonds of collaboration and affection that should characterize your Organization. You are aware that among the aims of this network of more than one hundred institutions is the advancement of Catholic higher education and service to society, creating spaces for encounter between faith and culture, in order to proclaim the Gospel in the university environment.

This pilgrimage together speaks volumes, because it expresses the very mission for which the university was born in the Catholic Church: to be an “incomparable centre of creativity and dissemination of knowledge for the good of humanity”, [1] in which “the united endeavour of intelligence and faith will enable people to come to the full measure of their humanity”. [2]

Nowadays, the Catholic university – as Pope Francis affirmed – continues to be one of the best tools the Church offers to our age, and it is the expression of the love that inspires every action of the Church: that is, God’s love for the human person. [3]

Since the very origins of university life in Latin America, the Church has been a driving force in education. The first universities of the continent – such as Santo Domingo, San Marcos de Lima, México, and many others – were established on the initiative of bishops, religious and missionaries convinced that proclaiming Jesus Christ, “the Way and the Truth and the Life” ( Jn14:6) “is an integral part of the Christian salvific message”. [4]

The universities you represent, moved by the same conviction, “are called to become ‘pathways of the mind towards God’”, thus embodying the Catholic identity that must distinguish them. The proposal of Catholic higher education is none other than to seek the integral development of the human person, forming minds with critical thinking skills, hearts of faith and citizens committed to the common good. And all this with excellence, competence and professionalism.

You are well aware of the challenges facing education today. With creativity, and in the knowledge that grace sustains us, advancing the mission entrusted to you by the Church.

I thank all of you for your efforts and your work in carrying out this major task, and I commend you to the Virgin Mary, Seat of Wisdom, so that, like her, you may always be docile to the action of Him who is Wisdom itself, Jesus Christ our Lord. May God bless you. Thank you very much.

Let us pray, as Jesus taught:

Our Father…

[Blessing]

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[1] St. John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Eclesiae, 1

[2] Ibid., 5.

[3] Francis, Address of His Holiness Pope Francis to a Delegation of the International Federation of Catholic Universitites, 19 January 2024.

[4] Francis, Address to Participants in the Plenary Assembly of the Congregation for Catholic Education (for Educational Institutions), 20 February 2020.

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Holy See Press Office Bulletin, 31 October 2025