At 10.00 this morning, the Holy Father Leo XIV left the Vatican by car for the pastoral visit to La Sapienza University of Rome.
Upon arrival, at 10.20, the Pope was welcomed in front of the “Divina Sapienza” University Chapel by the Rector Magnificus, Professor Antonella Polimeni, and then at the entrance to the church by His Eminence Cardinal Baldo Reina, vicar general of His Holiness for the Diocese of Rome, and the Chaplain, Don Gabriele Vecchione.
After a brief moment of silent prayer, the Pope addressed some impromptu words to those present and then personally greeted a group of students. Pope Leo XIV then transferred by golf cart to the central square and the monumental steps, where he addressed some words of greeting to the students gathered in waiting.
At 10.40, in the Reception Room of the Palace of the Rectorate, the Pope had a private meeting with the Rector Magnificus.
At 11.00, after signing the Guest Book, a commemorative plaque marking the visit was unveiled in the corridor outside the Office, and the Pope greeted the members of the Academic Senate and the University staff.
Following the visit to the exhibition ‘La Sapienza and the Papacy’, the Holy Father proceeded to the Main Hall where, at approximately 11.20, the meeting with lecturers and students took place.
After the Rector’s welcome address, Pope Leo XIV delivered his address.
At the end of the meeting, after the exchange of gifts, the Pope greeted a delegation of students.
Before leaving the University at midday, the Holy Father stepped out onto the monumental steps and addressed a few words of greeting and thanks to the students gathered outside. He then returned to the Vatican by car.
Below we publish the words of greeting and the address the Pope gave to those present during his visit:
Impromptu greeting in the University Chapel
Greeting to students present in the University central square
Address of the Holy Father
Final impromptu greeting in front of the Rectorate
Impromptu greeting of the Pope to employees’ families
Impromptu greeting in the University Chapel
Good morning! Greetings to everyone: to the Rector, to His Eminence, to the auxiliary bishops, to all of you students, and to the lecturers!
I wanted to begin this visit this morning here in the Chapel, in this beautiful church, a place of encounter with the Lord, because first and foremost, my visit this morning is a pastoral visit: to get to know the University a little, to get to know you, to be able to greet you and share a brief moment in faith. Those who research, those who study, those who seek the truth—in the end, they seek God, they will encounter God, they will find God precisely in the beauty of creation, in the many forms in which God has chosen to leave His mark, in all that we are, above all as sons and daughters of God, creatures made in His image, but also in His creation.
So, it is a good moment today to share a little with the university community, in this centre of learning… I believe it is the largest in all of Europe. And so it is truly a blessing, a gift from God, to be here and to experience this moment, knowing that it is God who has called us, it is God who has given this marvellous creation to us all. I wish you not only a good day, but also success in your studies, and may the time you spend at this University truly be for all of you an encounter with God and with the beauty of life.
Now I will give you my blessing, and then we will continue our visit to other parts of the University.
[Blessing]
Well then, have a good day, thank you all! Thank you for your welcome!
On his way to the University Rectorate, the Holy Father addressed some words of greeting to the students present in the University central square:
Good morning to you all! Thank you for the warm welcome! I am very pleased to be here with you this morning; you’ll be able to follow the entire meeting on the screens. And I hope it will be a moment of grace, a moment of joy for the whole Sapienza community. Best wishes to you all, and see you later!
Address of the Holy Father
Rector Magnificus
Political and civil authorities,
Distinguished lecturers, researchers, and technical and administrative staff,
And, above all, dear students!
It is with great joy that I have accepted the invitation to meet the university community of La Sapienza University of Rome. Your University is distinguished as a centre of excellence in various disciplines and, at the same time, for its commitment to the right to education, including for those with limited financial means, people with disabilities, prisoners and those who have fled war zones. For example, I greatly appreciate that the diocese of Rome and La Sapienza have signed an agreement to open a university humanitarian corridor from the Gaza Strip. It is therefore important for me, as bishop of Rome for just over a year, to be able to meet you. With a pastor’s heart, I would like first to address the students, and then the teaching staff.
The avenues of the university campus, which I walked along to get here, are traversed daily by many young people, filled with conflicting emotions. I imagine you are sometimes carefree, rejoicing in your own youth which, even in a troubled world marked by terrible injustices, allows you to feel that the future is still to be written and that no one can take it away from you. So, the studies you are undertaking, the friendships that blossom during these years, and your encounters with various masters of thought are a promise of what can change us for the better, even before the reality around us. When the desire for truth becomes research, our boldness in study bears witness to the hope for a new world.
You know that I feel a spiritual connection to Saint Augustine, who was a restless young man: he made some serious mistakes, but nothing was lost of his passion for beauty and wisdom. In this regard, I was delighted to receive so many questions from you: hundreds of them! Obviously, it is not possible to answer them all, but I will bear them in mind, and I hope that each of you will seek further opportunities for dialogue. This is also why university chaplaincies exist, where faith responds to your questions.
Yet there is also a sad side to this restlessness: we must not blind ourselves to the fact that many young people are suffering. We all go through difficult times; for some, however, it may feel as though they never end. Today, this is increasingly due to the pressure of expectations and the burden of performance. It is the pervasive lie of a distorted system, which reduces people to numbers, exacerbating competitiveness and leaving us caught in spirals of anxiety. It is precisely this spiritual malaise felt by many young people that reminds us that we are not the sum of what we have, nor a random collection of matter in a silent cosmos. We are a desire, not an algorithm! It is precisely this special dignity of ours that leads me to share two questions with you.
To you young people, this unease asks: “Who are you?” Being ourselves, in fact, is the defining commitment of every man and woman’s life. “Who are you?” is the question we ask one another; the question we silently pose to God; the question only we can answer for ourselves, but which we can never answer alone. We are our relationships, our language, our culture: all the more reason why it is vital that our university years be a time of great encounters.
Therefore, to those who are more mature, the malaise of youth asks: “What kind of world are we leaving behind?”. A world, sadly, crippled by wars and the rhetoric of war. This is a pollution of reason, which, from the geopolitical level, invades every social relationship. The simplification that creates enemies must therefore be corrected, especially in universities, through an appreciation of complexity and the wise exercise of memory. In particular, the tragedy of the twentieth century must not be forgotten. The cry “never again war!” of my Predecessors, so in keeping with the rejection of war enshrined in the Italian Constitution, spurs us on to a spiritual alliance with the sense of justice that dwells in the hearts of young people, with their vocation not to shut themselves away behind ideologies and national borders.
For example, over the past year, the increase in military spending worldwide, and particularly in Europe, has been enormous: let us not call “defence” a rearmament that increases tensions and insecurity, depletes investment in education and health, undermines trust in diplomacy, and enriches elites who care nothing for the common good. We must also keep a watchful eye on the development and application of artificial intelligence in both military and civilian contexts, to ensure that it does not absolve humans of responsibility for their choices and does not exacerbate the tragedy of conflicts. What is happening in Ukraine, Gaza and the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Iran illustrates the inhuman evolution of the relationship between war and new technologies in a spiral of annihilation. Study, research and investment must move in the opposite direction: let them be a radical “yes” to life! Yes to innocent life, yes to young life, yes to the life of peoples who invoke peace and justice!
A second area of shared commitment concerns the environment. As Pope Francis told us in the Encyclical Laudato si’, “a very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system” (no. 23). More than a decade has passed since then and, despite good intentions and some efforts in this direction, the situation does not seem to have improved.
In this context, I encourage you above all, dear young people, not to give in to resignation, but rather to transform your concern into prophecy. Those who believe, in particular, know that history does not fall helplessly into the hands of death, but is always safeguarded, whatever may happen, by a God who creates life out of nothing, who gives without taking, who shares without consuming. Today, it is precisely the implosion of a possessive and consumerist paradigm that is clearing the way for the new that is already sprouting: study, cultivate and safeguard justice! Together with me and so many brothers and sisters, be artisans of true peace: a peace that is unarmed and disarming, humble and persevering, working for harmony among peoples and the care of the Earth.
There is a need for all your intelligence and boldness. Indeed, you can help those who have gone before you to re-establish an authentic horizon of meaning, so that we do not stop at yet another fleeting snapshot of the situation in which we find ourselves. We must move from interpretation to action: so little regarded by a society with ever fewer children, bear witness that humanity is capable of a future, when it builds it with wisdom.
Your University, which bears a divine name, is a place of study and a centre for experimentation, which for centuries has fostered critical thinking. In particular, you, as lecturers, can cultivate a fruitful connection with the minds and hearts of young people: this is a demanding responsibility, certainly, but an exciting one. It is of the utmost importance to believe in your students. Therefore, ask yourselves often: do I have faith in them?
Teaching is a form of charity just as much as helping a migrant at sea, a poor person on the street, or a desperate soul. It is about loving human life always and in all circumstances, about valuing its potential, so as to speak to the hearts of young people, without focusing solely on their knowledge. Teaching then becomes bearing witness to values through one’s life: it is care for reality, a sense of openness towards what is not yet understood, and speaking the truth. What sense would it make, after all, to train a researcher or professional who does not, however, cultivate their own conscience, a sense of justice and respect for that which cannot and must not be dominated? Knowledge, in fact, serves not only to achieve professional goals, but to discern who one is. Through lectures, work placements, interaction with the city, dissertations and doctorates, every student can always find new motivations, bringing order to the relationship between study and life, between means and ends.
Dear friends, as I encourage you in this daily exercise, my visit is intended to be a sign of a new educational alliance between the Church in Rome and your prestigious University, which was born and has grown within the very heart of the Church. I assure you all of my remembrance in prayer, and I wholeheartedly invoke the Lord’s blessing upon the entire community of La Sapienza. Thank you!
Impromptu final greeting in front of the Rectorate
Thank you, thank you all! In this final greeting, after this morning’s visit, I would like to extend an invitation to all of you: let us work together; we are all builders of peace in the world; let us work, study, and do everything – from our relationships with friends, to our words, to our way of thinking – to build peace in the world. Always have hope in the possibility of building a new world! Thank you for being here, and goodbye!
Impromptu greeting to employees’ families
Good morning to you all! A true university—which is the university of people—is never complete without families, and all those who contribute to university life: professors, administrators, managers, but also the families and people who provide various services within the university family or community. So I am very happy this morning to greet all of you here too, who, I imagine, represent a small sample of the many families that are part of this “Sapienza” community. Best wishes to you all, and a special blessing! Thank you for being here, for this welcome; I am very happy to share this moment with you.
Blessing
Best wishes, and thank you to you all! Many thanks!
