CV NEWSFEED // The Vatican has announced the complete merger of three universities in Rome into a single entity.
According to a March 18 Vatican News article, the Society of Jesus has merged the three Jesuit-run pontifical universities, which Pope Francis entrusted to it, into one juridical entity, following the Holy Father’s request in December 2019. The Pontifical Gregorian University will permanently incorporate the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute under a new set of General Statutes, which the Society of Jesus created. The Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute will be academic units of the Pontifical Gregorian University.
“The Holy Father ordered that the Pontifical Biblical Institute and the Pontifical Oriental Institute be joined to the Gregorian University while still retaining their own names and missions,” the Vatican report stated.
The article said that the change will take effect on Pentecost Sunday, May 19. After that, the Pontifical Gregorian University will be governed by a single rector. A council that includes three presidents will share the responsibility for overseeing the university. Pope Francis said he wants the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Oriental Church to continue supporting and promoting the Pontifical Oriental Institute’s mission by acting as its Patron.
Established in 1551 by St Ignatius of Loyola, the Pontifical Gregorian University has been known as the “Roman College” for decades, according to the article. The Pontifical Biblical Institute, which was founded in 1909, is home to world-renowned advanced studies of Scripture. The Pontifical Oriental Institute was established in 1917. It is dedicated to ecclesiastical sciences and Eastern Church canon law.
