(ZENIT News / Vatican City, 04.15.2025).- With the Chirograph Il Ministero Petrino of 25 March 2025, the Holy Father has updated the formation programme of the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy, an institution that since 1701 has been training the diplomats of the Holy See. In line with the reforming vision promoted by Pope Francis for ecclesiastical academic institutions, as outlined in the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium, the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy has been reconfigured as an Institute of higher academic training in the field of Diplomatic Sciences. This decision is part of a broader vision of updating and strengthening ecclesiastical studies in accordance with the international standards of higher education.
The Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy will offer a curriculum of formation that integrates legal, historical, political, economic and linguistic skills with a solid scientific foundation. The aim is to provide the students – young priests from dioceses all over the world – with a complete and suitable preparation for the diplomatic mission entrusted to them by the Holy See.
The programme of formation proposed for future Pontifical Representatives combines theoretical skills with an approach to work and a lifestyle capable of guaranteeing a profound understanding of the complex dynamics of international relations. Such training requires competence and interpretative skills, a solid aptitude for discernment and the readiness to face the challenges of an increasingly synodal Church. In this framework, personal qualities such as closeness, attentive listening, consistent witness, dialogue and a fraternal approach, combined with the humility and meekness that characterize the priestly vocation modelled on the example of the Good Shepherd, are indispensable. These elements are all essential for a diplomatic activity inspired by the Gospel, capable of building bridges, overcoming obstacles and promoting practical paths towards the pursuit of peace, religious freedom and cooperation among nations.
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