The Salesian Pontifical University

The Salesian Pontifical University is preparing to celebrate 25 years of life as a University, in addition to the 30 no less important years as a Pontifical Athenaeum. The path that has been followed in these years manifests a development that can be assessed in various ways. The number of students has increased from 600 in 1973 to about 1,400 today. The number of requests for admission have never fallen off; indeed at present it has to be contained and regulated, in line with the possibilities of structures and personnel. In addition to the Salesians there are 390 religious, 150 diocesan students, and 590 lay people from every continent.

It has established a unique physiognomy among the Roman Universities for its educative and pastoral orientation and for the family style of the university community. Recently it has given life to interesting pastoral initiatives for the service of the students. In addition to the work of teaching, research, cultural development and services to the Church, it assists widely varying sectors of the salesian mission at regional and world level, of which formation is one of the first.

We must affirm once again its irreplaceable function "in the service of the Congregation and as a qualified expression of its mission in the Church, with its specific cultural and formative potential". It expresses at the highest level the dialogue between salesian charism and cultural applications, and in this sense fulfils a frontier mission. For this reason among the documents of the GC24 we read: "The present development of the Congregation and its worldwide expansion, the challenge of the mission and the demand for quality in its pedagogical and pastoral expression, the perspective of the new evangelization and of inculturation, the fostering of communion and attention to the different expressions of our charism render the function of the UPS of great and relevant importance in the framework of the salesian reality".

In respect of the nature, criteria of functioning and levels of involvement of a university institution which is pontifical, ecclesiastical and salesian, the identity of our University must be maintained as also the quality of its contribution in the cultural, ecclesial and salesian environment.

Its development must be ensured in line with an organic project, periodically verified, to which corresponds the numerical and qualitative consistency of the academic body. Participation of the laity is already provided for, but it would be a weakness to do this only because the number of Salesians prepared for work at this level is insufficient.

Attention to the effectiveness, salesian characterization, capacity for cultural and religious dialogue, unity and organic nature of the project, and the promotion of a style of academic community are all aspects which must be kept in mind in the highest centre of studies of the Congregation.

The Rector Major with his Council and the University itself are committed to the verification of the situation and to the formulation of an organic operational project which lays down the lines of development for future years.

All this presupposes a decisive investment on the part of the Congregation as regards personnel. Today’s geography of the Congregation requires a University which is ever more international in character. It should be considered normal for requests to be made to the Provinces for persons already qualified or to be qualified for service in the UPS, and the availability of confreres to be co-opted and transferred to Rome. Such a criterion, on the other hand, is already taking place in the Congregation. This is clear from the generosity with which confreres and Provinces have responded to recent appeals.

The service of the UPS for the qualification of salesian personnel needs to be further exploited. Here salesian competence and perspectives are offered in a unique synthesis derived from experience combined with the choice and organization of the courses. For us therefore it is not "just the same" as other Universities. After verifying once more the results observable in the Congregation, I repeat the evaluation made by the GC24: "With some small exceptions, often repeated excessively and which we are willing to keep in mind, the net result of the frequenting of such Centres by students is highly positive for individuals, Provinces and the whole Congregation. We do not see any other arrangement that would be more advantageous".