The Rector of the Catholic University Elena Beccalli in an audience with Pope Francis

This morning, Monday 12 August, Pope Francis received the Rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Professor Elena Beccalli, leading the University since last 1 July. Various topics were addressed in the conversation, many of which centred on the university world and the issue of the educational emergency.

Prof. Beccalli expressed profound and immense gratitude, thanking the Holy Father for his constant closeness to the University of Italian Catholics, since its foundation at the service of society and of the Italian and the universal Church. An Athenaeum that, constantly renewing itself, is committed to accompanying and supporting the new generations in an integral university education within a radically changing reality. An Athenaeum that, nurturing the community dimension, continues to question the meaning of being a university today, particularly a Catholic university, enlightened by a spirit that is both free and oriented towards the search for truth.

Professor Beccalli illustrated to His Holiness the many projects that the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart intends to implement on its five campuses ‒ Milan, Brescia, Piacenza, Cremona and Rome ‒ in order to propose a contribution of thought on frontier issues in a global perspective.