Innovation and commitment towards a new academic year

by Prof. Fr. José Enrique Oyarzún, L.C. – Rector Magnificus

As we open the doors to a new year, we are faced with a privileged moment of reflection and projection. This space, which the magazine seeks to offer, is an opportunity to verify not

only the results achieved last academic year, but also the goals we set ourselves in a constantly changing world. Education, especially academic formation in an ecclesiastical institution, must be able to respond creatively and intelligently to contemporary challenges, without losing sight of the principles underlying it and its essential mission of evangelizing culture.

The 2023-2024 academic year was particularly significant, marked by the celebration of our 30^th anniversary. This milestone has given us the opportunity to look back with gratitude and has been a catalyst for various activities focused on strengthening and growing our identity as an academic community, while projecting our vision into the future. It was a year of reflection on what we have inherited and of renewing our commitment to academic excellence, service to society and the evangelization of culture.

The journal’s pages offer a journey through some of the most important moments we have experienced as an academic community. From the advances of our research to the new initiatives that have allowed us to integrate technology more effectively in training processes. This effort is not only a response to the needs of the present, but also a commitment to the preparation of apostles – Christian leaders – capable of contributing to the construction of a more humane and just world, in line with the words of Pope Francis: “Education is an act of hope that, from the present, looks to the future” (Video message for the launch of Mission 4.7 and the Global Compact on Education, 2020).

The ability to innovate, to use technological resources intelligently and to open up to dialogue with different cultural and scientific realities is fundamental to project ourselves into the future and fulfill our evangelizing mission. Every achievement described here is a step in that direction, and each new challenge we set for this new academic year reinforces our commitment to integral formation, which not only educates, but also inspires and transforms.

The new academic year, enriched by the experience of our 30th anniversary, invites us to redouble our efforts to promote a culture of encounter, of fruitful dialogue between faith and reason, between science and spirituality. As we grow as an institution, so do our responsibilities to the global academic community, the Church, and society at large.

Our commitment to the evangelization of culture permeates every dimension of our academic and pastoral work. We do not limit ourselves to training competent professionals, but people dedicated to transforming the world in a Christian perspective. As Pope Francis reminds us, “to evangelize is to make present the Kingdom of God in the world” (Evangelii Gaudium, 176). This mission directs our efforts towards the future, ensuring that every academic and institutional initiative contributes to “reaching and transforming with the power of the Gospel the criteria of judgment, the determining values, the points of interest, the lines of thought, the sources of inspiration and the models of life of humanity, which are in contrast with the Word of God and with the plan of salvation” (Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, 19)¹.

We hope that the following pages will not only serve to look with gratitude at what we have achieved, but also inspire those who accompany us on this journey to continue to dream and build a hopeful future, based on the rich tradition we have cultivated, the innovation that drives us forward, and our unwavering commitment for the evangelization of culture.

¹ Quote from the official Spanish translation.