Rome (Italy). On October 28, 2019, the Pontifical Faculty of the Science of Education Auxilium began its 2019-2020 academic year with the official inauguration in the 50th year of its canonical erection.  Together with Mother Yvonne Reungoat, Vice Grand Chancellor of the Faculty, also  present were the Vicar General Sr. Chiara Cazzuola, in her canonical visit to Mary Mother of the Church Preprovince (RMC), the Secretary General Sr. Piera Cavaglià, the Councilor for Administration Sr. Vilma Tallone, and the Youth Ministry Councilor Sr. Runita Borja.

The morning opened with the Eucharistic celebration presided by Msgr. Jan Romeo Pawlowski, Delegate for the Pontifical Representation of the Secretary of State who, quoting the discourse of John Paul II to the universities in 1983, called study as the work of the intellect in search of the truth, which is not found if one does not love. Msgr. Pawlowski ended the homily with the words of Dominic Savio, “Here, we make holiness consist in being very happy and in the perfect accomplishment of our duties,” so that it may resonate among the educators called to reach the heart of the world with the joyful message.

With the report on the 2018-2019 academic year, the Principal, Professor Piera Ruffinatto, retraced the stages, processes, significant events, and the experiences shared in a time that involved the Faculty in “responding to the challenge of an increasingly complex and globalized world.”

The Academic Prolusion entitled: “Metamorphosis of democracy and educational implications”, was presented by Prof. Enrico Letta, Dean of the Paris School of International Affairs of University Sciences Po of Paris, who highlighted the connection between democracy and education in this time of great revolution, comparable according to him to the revolution that took place in 1400, with the invention of movable type printing by Gutenberg, “a revolution due to technological innovation, linked to the smartphone, which is now our second identity.”

After illustrating through some examples the great changes we are witnessing, Enrico Letta recalled the importance of formation that can make a difference in helping young people answer the questions of meaning and find, “through a multiplicity of experiences, the cardinal points of the compass that guide our life, which is not found on the Internet, nor on Google.” For this reason he invited us “not to be afraid to challenge modernity”, to go to the substance of the values ​​that “in a whirlwind of transformations return to extraordinary actuality, to be able to work on fundamental values, that is to give meaning to the things that they do.”  Finally, referring to the famous story of medieval stonemasons, he concluded with this wish: “The difference lies here: one stops at that gesture and finds it poor in meaning, the other inserts that poor gesture into an overall design that gives meaning not only to that gesture, but to his day, his professionalism, and his life . Courage, therefore: you are here to build cathedrals.”

Finally, the Vice Chancellor, Sister Yvonne Reungoat, before pronouncing the formula for the inauguration of the academic year,  addressed the audience in the hall, particularly the teachers and students, urging them to listen profoundly to reality to “intuit the future together with passion, enthusiasm, and creativity, willing to face changes to build culture and not simply repeat it; to enter with openness, the desire to share, to let yourselves be guided to be increasingly aware of your responsibility in society and in the Church.”

At the end, Mother declared the new academic year open.

 

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