Our Mission and Core Values

1.Our mission and core values express the specific contribution which the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum (APRA) offers to the Church’s evangelization mission in contemporary society.

Identity and Mission

2. The Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum is an ecclesiastical institution of higher education promoted by the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ, canonically erected by the Congregation for Catholic Education on September 15, 1993; it is regulated by the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium (VG) and is part of the network of universities of the Legion of Christ and Regnum Christi, actively collaborating according to their common charism and mission of evangelization.

3. As an ecclesiastical institution of higher education, it is dedicated to the research and teaching of Sacred Doctrine and the related sciences (cf. VG 2, §1) with scientific rigor and in constant dialogue with the world and contemporary culture.

4. Our mission is double: to form apostles, Christian leaders both clerics and lay, at the service of the Church in order to bear witness to the mystery of Christ; to create, in full communion with the Magisterium of the Church, currents of thought that answer man’s theoretical and existential questions and imbue society with an evangelical spirit (cf. General Statutes, art. 4 §3).

Core Values

5. APRA is inspired by the evangelical values that are the basis of Christian humanism; enlightened by these, it proposes some that define its institutional physiognomy and form the framework of its activities.

Search for truth

6. APRA conceives the university as the home where the truth is sought. Therefore, the search for truth is the soul of investigation and teaching, the basis of educational programs and the stimulus to promote the correct use of reason.

Search for knowledge

7. The search for truth culminates in the search for the ultimate and global meaning of knowledge and life. This principle ensures both that in research and formation there is always a tendency towards the unification of knowledge, and that a systematic and organic vision of knowledge in harmony with the necessary specializations is promoted.

8. APRA positively promotes the exchange of knowledge between the different disciplines, to acquire an increasingly integral knowledge of reality, emphasizing the humanizing harmony of interdisciplinary study (cf. VG Proem, 4c).

9. The search for knowledge has a strong existential orientation; therefore, the knowledge and experiences communicated must be significant and able to answer theoretical and existential questions.

Harmony between faith and reason

10. The search for truth leads to recognizing the harmony between faith and reason. Reason needs faith to reach the highest and deepest truths. Faith, as a human act, needs reason to understand Revelation and to be lived in a mature way.

Ecclesial Sense

11. As a pontifical academic institution, APRA is part of the community of believers in Christ who professes and promotes the Catholic faith and recognizes in the living Magisterium the authentic interpreter of the written or transmitted Word of God (cf. DV, 10), having it as a sure and certain point of reference in everything concerning faith and morals.

Sense of mission

12. The sense of mission is the soul of the Regina Apostolorum. Research, teaching, student formation and professional services are oriented towards the fulfillment of the common mission of making the mystery of Christ present in society, impressing a Christian imprint in today’s culture, based on our specificity.

Person centered

13. The value of the person which arises from the recognition of his dignity as a creature and as a child of God, guides the work of APRA. All university activities concern and refer to specific persons the institution is called to serve.

14. Placing the person at the center implies recognizing and promoting the development of each individual and of community life, in an environment of open dialogue, collaboration, acceptance, and cordiality.

Personalized formation

15. The recognition and respect of the unrepeatable individuality of each person translates into a pedagogical model in which each student is known, welcomed and accompanied in his or her academic performance and growth, in order to foster the achievement of personal fullness.

Integral formation

16. Intellectual life is part of the broader scenario of the life of man who questions himself, relates to others and seeks God. Therefore, in the context of our academic specificity, APRA aims to help students to grow in all their faculties, seeking the harmonious development of the person in his different dimensions and thus contributing to the achievement of an adequate unity of life.

Continual development

17. Development and personal growth oriented towards generous service to others implies a healthy tension towards excellence in the academic instruction of students, in research and in the pedagogical updating of teachers and programs, as well as in secretarial and administrative services, in a spirit of collaboration, initiative, service and healthy emulation among the members of the community.

Interculturality

18. The treasures of the various human cultures more fully reveal the very nature of man and open new paths towards the truth (cf. GS 44). APRA is an international and intercultural community inserted in the context of the catholicity of Rome, a city that promotes knowledge, comprehension and harmonization of the different cultures present in the Church and the world.

Dialogue with contemporary culture

19. Perennial values must respond to the questions and concerns of contemporary man in order to be meaningful. Therefore, APRA promotes dialogue with contemporary culture and attention to cultural currents and the problems that weigh upon individuals of our own epoch.