(ZENIT News / Buenos Aires, 08.25.2024).- Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, who is responsible worldwide for education and culture within the Catholic Church as the Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education of the Holy See, made a surprise visit to the Scholas Occurrentes headquarters in Barrio 31 in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. There, he was able to converse with its founders, Professors José María del Corral and Enrique Palmeyro, who, together with Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires, began gathering students and teachers from schools of different religions and social levels, both public and private, to foster the Culture of Encounter amidst the crisis and divisions of 2001.
The Cardinal listened to testimonies from young people who participate in sports and cultural activities, as well as from teachers in Scholas communities in various parts of the country, such as Villa Fiorito in Greater Buenos Aires and El Impenetrable in the province of Chaco. At the end, visibly moved by what he had heard, he spoke to express his joy at being there in the presence of a great family. He said that a picture is worth a thousand words and that meeting, perceiving this atmosphere of togetherness, seeing the eyes, feeling their desires, is worth more than a thousand words. He considered it a responsibility for a pastor like him, entrusted with this responsibility by Pope Francis, to continue helping in the educational and cultural field in which Scholas operates. He thanked everyone for the meeting, which had greatly moved him.
Finally, the Cardinal added a brushstroke to a mural created by the young people of the Scholas community in Barrio 31, where they express their dreams and their struggles. The task he was asked to express was what the most difficult decision he had to make in his life was. The Undersecretary for University Policies, Lic. Alejandra Alvarez, also made a mark, drawing the first memory of her life. She drew two hearts connected by a line and said it referred to the love that united her parents.
In May of this year, Cardinal Tolentino participated in the International Encounter on Meaning organized by Scholas Occurrentes in Vatican City, where more details of this new university institution created by decree of the Holy Father, called the University of Meaning, were revealed. With great emotion, the head of Scholas in Barrio 31 thanked him for this historic visit and for his and his dicastery’s ongoing support of Scholas’ educational and cultural work worldwide.
The historic Scholas headquarters in Barrio 31, inaugurated in 2018 by Pope Francis himself via videoconference, is a community that gathers not only the families of Barrio 31 but also hosts UBA’s CBC (Common Basic Cycle). Additionally, sports activities such as the International Pelota de Trapo Football League, volleyball, boxing, and other activities are held there. The headquarters also hosts artistic and cultural activities that bring the entire community together, with participation from various international artists such as Sebastian Yatra, among others. The headquarters has also hosted performances by the Teatro Colón, and each year delegations of students from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and other important international educational institutions participate.
Scholas is now present on five continents, with direct participation in 70 countries, and in the coming days, it will inaugurate, alongside Pope Francis, the first Scholas headquarters in Southeast Asia, in Indonesia.
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