Pope Francis Accelerates University Reform

The origins of the Pontifical Urbania University date back to August 1, 1627, when Urban VIII, through the bull Immortale Dei Filius, gave birth to the Urban College, attached to the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith, within which generations of indigenous missionaries and seminarians were trained to spread Catholicism in mission countries.

On October 1, 1962, a few days before the opening of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), “by the motu proprio Fidei Propagandae, Pope John XXII elevated the Urbania to the rank of Pontifical University,” according to the Wikipedia entry, thus reinforcing its prestige.

But much water has flowed under the bridges of the Tiber, carrying with it many vestiges of Catholicism within a Church tempted to align with the values ​​of modernity. Now, in the eyes of some, it is high time to reform an institution that is causing the Holy See to lose money, a luxury that can no longer be afforded while the Vatican's finances are in deficit.

Pope Francis threw a spanner in the works on February 25, 2023, during a speech to the academic staff of the pontifical universities relayed by the Zenit news agency: “I take advantage of the opportunity given here to tell you that there are too many ecclesiastical universities in Rome. You must agree and achieve a certain form of unity: unity in the study programs.…Come to an agreement, talk about it among yourselves,” the Pope suggested at the time.

A “suggestion” that was slow to be heard, to the point of pushing the pontiff to convene, on August 29 and 30, 2024, an extraordinary plenary assembly in order to identify clear paths for reforming the pontifical universities, in particular the Urbania:

“The convening of this plenary assembly, which brings together cardinals and bishops from five continents, is an intermediate step in the process of ecclesial discernment regarding the current and future path of the Urbania University,” explains Fr. Gianni Valente in the columns of Fides. A rhetoric behind which it is understood that the University founded in the 17th century is now in the eye of the storm.

The Argentine pontiff has laid down the rules of the game: “There is a project that aims at the absorption of the Urbania by the other pontifical universities, this is not possible,” Francis hammered home. For the Pope, “a historic and prestigious institution like the Urbania, which has its own identity, can provide adequate answers to the questions that today's reality poses to the Church and the world.” 

The Holy See plans to save 1.5 million euros next year, so Pope Francis has asked to implement an alliance “of the six university institutions that are under the jurisdiction of the Holy See - the Lateran, the Urbania, the Pontifical Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies, and the institutes for Christian archaeology, for sacred music, and for the sciences of marriage and the family - in order to save money,” as the agency cath.ch specifies.

Going into the details of the reform, Francis asked for a “merger” of the study courses that are duplicated in universities, to “pool” the operations of the teaching staff and “to eliminate waste, to plan activities wisely, to abandon outdated practices or unoriginal projects,” according to Fides.

In conclusion, the Argentine pontiff warmly thanked the Cardinal Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Luis Antonio Tagle, and the Secretary of the same Dicastery “who are doing a real job to avoid these ugly and dirty things.”