The following is the Message sent by the Holy Father Leo XIV to the Bolivian Catholic University “San Pablo” on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of its founding:

Message of the Holy Father

To all the members of the university community:

I wish to extend my greetings to everyone who forms part of the institution. Celebrating sixty years allows us to acknowledge a fruitful history of service to the Church and to society.

The university, in its deepest sense, is not merely a centre for technical training nor a mere space for the production of utilitarian knowledge. It is, above all, “an academic community which, in a rigorous and critical fashion, assists in the protection and advancement of human dignity and of a cultural heritage through research, teaching and various services offered to the local, national and international communities” (Saint John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae, 12).

The university therefore exists to promote the integral formation of the person, since true education “aims at the formation of the human person in the pursuit of his ultimate end and of the good of the societies of which, as man, he is a member” (cf. Declaration Gravissimus educationis, 1). Within this framework, intellectual and moral faculties, responsible freedom and commitment to the common good are harmoniously cultivated, forming individuals capable of thinking rigorously, engaging in open dialogue and acting with integrity.

One thus gains a particularly profound understanding of the motto that identifies this institution of learning: Veritas in Caritate. This expression is an eloquent synthesis of the university’s mission, grounded in faith. For the Christian tradition, truth is not merely an intellectual ideal or an abstract concept, but finds its identity in the very person of Jesus Christ, who reveals himself precisely as “the Truth” (Jn 14:6) who “fully reveals man to man himself and makes his supreme calling clear” (Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et spes, 22).

From this perspective, the truth, sought with intellectual rigour and scientific honesty, finds in charity its horizon and ultimate criterion, since speaking the truth is, for the Christian, an act of love that edifies, heals and guides the person towards their fulfilment. Recognizing that Truth has a personal face and a relational dimension prevents knowledge from becoming an instrument of domination, exclusion or mere expedience, directing it instead towards the service of justice and the dignity of every human being, especially the most vulnerable.

Thus, Veritas in Caritate expresses the vocation of an academic community that aspires to integrate knowledge and life, intelligence and ethics, faith and reason, academic excellence and social responsibility. Research, teaching and professional training are conceived as services rather than self-referential ends, and are directed towards the construction of a more humane, just and open society, one that is open to transcendence, where knowledge is always at the service of the person.

As it celebrates its sixtieth anniversary, the Bolivian Catholic University is called upon to look back with gratitude on the path it has travelled and to renew its commitment to this mission with courage. In a cultural context marked by the fragmentation of knowledge, relativism and the instrumentalization of knowledge, Veritas in Caritate remains a criterion for academic and pastoral discernment, and a demanding programme for the future in which you are called to be “the light of the world” (cf. Mt 5:14).

Entrusting the academic, educational and community work of this University to the maternal intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Seat of Wisdom, I cordially impart to you the Apostolic Blessing with affection and gratitude.

Vatican, 19 February 2025

LEO PP. XIV