IFCU GENERAL ASSEMBLY 2025! REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
IFCU CENTENARY 1924-2024
Pope Francis addresses the International Federation of Catholic Universities on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of its foundation
Your Eminence, Your Excellencies,
Dear brothers and sisters!
[I was planning to deliver a lengthy address, but I am a bit short of breath; as you can see, this cold is not going away! I am giving you the text so that you can read it for yourselves. I thank all of you for this meeting and for all the good that our Catholic universities do by communicating knowledge, the word of God and an authentic humanism. Never tire of persevering in the splendid mission of Catholic universities. It is not their confessional status that gives them their identity: that is one aspect, but not the only one. It is perhaps that clear humanism which makes people realize that human beings have values and that these need to be respected. This is perhaps the finest and greatest thing about your universities. Thank you very much.]
Click on the image to read the address of the Holy Father
Experience the Federation Centenary Conference in video
Experience the Federation Centenary Conference in pictures
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NEWS
The Pope to artists “Art is not a luxury”, but “a necessity of the spirit”.
Isabel Capeloa Gil, our President, represented FIUC and took part in the jubilee of artists and the world of culture. She was one of the speakers at the international conference entitled “Sharing Hope. Horizons for cultural heritage”. The conference was held on February 15 in the Vatican Museums, as part of the cultural initiatives organized for the Jubilee of Artists and the World of Culture, which took place in Rome from February 16 to 18, 2025.
On the occasion of the Jubilee of Artists, a mass was celebrated on Sunday February 16 in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. In his homily, read by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, to artists and men of culture, the Pope affirmed that he sees them as guardians of the beatitudes and beauty, while inviting them to educate in hope. (Homily)
Africa Peace and Development Network Webinar – 19 March 2025 – “Peace and Stability through Home-grown Democracy”
Our next training session “Leading Catholic Universities in the XXIst Century” will be organized from September 14 to 19, 2025. It will be hosted by the Pontifical Irish College.
Our 2024 session focused on the specificity of Catholic identity, including the nature of a Catholic university, the Catholic intellectual tradition, etc. It was also oriented to specific issues in the management, quality assurance and social responsibility of such institutions. The group composed by university executives coming from Angola, Congo DR, France, Lebanon, Palestine, Nigeria, The Philippines, Uganda and Uruguay attended a Papal Audience and met with authorities of the Dicastery for Culture and Education and AVEPRO.
30th ASEACCU Annual Conference “What makes a Catholic University Catholic? Expressing and Integrating Identity and Mission”
The 30th ASEACCU Annual Conference was held from August 21st to Aug 23rd, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. An important and annual gathering within the ASEACCU community, this year’s Conference was hosted by the Australian Catholic University (ACU) and welcomed over 200 Conference delegates and guests.
On August 22, IFCU sponsored the following Rector’s Panel: Catholic universities and social impact – what does the future hold with the participation of Prof. Zlatko Skrbis (ACU), Prof. Lucia Shih-Ling Lin (Providence University), Prof. Francis Yi Chen Lan (Fu Jen Catholic University) and our President Prof. Isabel Capeloa Gil (Catholic University of Portugal)
Building Bridges: Communication, Identity and Trust – Rome, September 16-18, 2024
As part of the centenary of the IFCU, the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in collaboration with ODUCAL, has brought together more than 50 Communicators from Catholic Universities coming from Latin America, Spain and Italy.
The meeting aimed to reflect on the role that those responsible for communication of Catholic universities have in consolidating critical thinking, constructive dialogue and trust.
Replay of the Conference! (Click on the image)
The Conference “The Geopolitics of Higher Education” was organized jointly by IFCU and the COMECE.
PUBLICATIONS
Mission and Identity
Academic Catholic Leadership
