Pope Leo XIV Holds Private Audience with President LeMura, Contingent of AJCU Presidents
Last week, 19 presidents of Jesuit colleges and universities in North America traveled to Rome for a series of meetings, including a private audience with Pope Leo XIV. The trip was arranged by the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU).
During the private audience, the Pontiff addressed the group in a talk that focused on the Society of Jesus’ four Universal Apostolic Preferences and the important role Jesuit higher education plays in achieving its goals. “With the help of the prayers of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, may you continue the Jesuit tradition of forming those entrusted to your care to be ‘men and women for others,’ ” said Pope Leo. “I gladly impart my Apostolic Blessing to each of you, which I willingly extend to your loved ones and to the communities of the institutions that you represent.” The text of his address can be found here.
The Vatican News covered Pope Leo’s meeting with the presidents under the headline “Universities are powerful channels to promote solidarity and common good.” An overview of the trip is also found on the AJCU website.
During the meeting, Pope Leo greeted each president individually.
The private audience with Pope Leo was one of the most moving experiences of my lifetime, one that brought me feelings of profound joy, reverence and gratitude. As a lifelong Catholic who has thought about this moment since I was young, meeting the Pope made a distant spiritual dream personal and tangible.
The President’s Pilgrimage was led by AJCU President Michelle Murray, who wrote to the group prior to departure, “During our days in Assisi, we will have time for spiritual reflection and renewal. As we prepare for our time together, I am struck by these words that V. Rev. Arturo Sosa, S.J., Superior General of the Society of Jesus, shared in his address to the International Association of Jesuit Universities in Bogotá last summer: ‘To sustain an open university offering integral formation in the midst of great difficulties demands openness to innovation, to seeking and finding alternative ways to fulfill the university’s social function, to maintaining active engagement with different sectors of the society in which the university carries out its mission.’ “
The entourage had several other items on their itinerary during the three-day trip, including meetings with:
- Mario Grech, secretary general of the Synod of Bishops and Sister Nathalie Becquart, XMCJ, undersecretary of the Synod of Bishops
- Archbishop Carlo Maria Polvani, secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education
- Brother Michael Schopf, S.J., international director of Jesuit Refugee Service
- Joseph Christie, S.J., secretary for higher education of the Society of Jesus and chair of the board of directors of International Association of Jesuit Universities.
They also toured the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and the Capitoline Museum.
