Quoting John Paul II, who on March 15 ratified his appointment, Jesuit Father Gianfranco Ghirlanda invited professors and students not «to dissociate the rigor of the university activity from humble and willing openness to the Word of God.»
The Mass of the 454th academic year of this institution, in which numerous popes, cardinals and bishops were formed, took place in the Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola.
«Today more than ever, ecclesiastical universities and faculties must play a role in the great spring that God is preparing for Christianity,» the priest said Saturday.
Father Ghirlanda, who was born in Rome in 1942, entered the Society of Jesus in 1966. He was ordained a priest in 1973.
Until now, he was dean of the university’s School of Canon Law. Father Ghirlanda is a consultor for several Vatican organizations, in particular, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
