Undertake your studies ‘with and for the Lord,’ Pope tells pontifical university students
October 10, 2026
Pope Leo XIV encouraged the students of Rome’s pontifical universities not to “teach, study or undertake research solely for themselves, but together with others, for others and, above all, with and for the Lord.”
The Pontiff made his remarks on October 8, during his homily at the evening Mass of the Holy Spirit in St. Peter’s Basilica (video) for the inauguration of the universities’ academic year. Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça and Archbishop Carlo Maria Polvani, prefect and secretary of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, were the principal concelebrants.
“Dear friends, consider study as a service to faith and truth: for your own good and for the good of so many brothers and sisters for whom the Lord gave his life,” Pope Leo preached. “Reason, posing questions in light of God’s word and the Church’s Tradition, is an essential part of the journey of faith in following Jesus Christ.”
“For this very reason, the Church has both the desire and the responsibility to safeguard the integrity of the treasure of Revelation and to develop, within diverse contexts, a prayerful understanding of it, scholarly reflection, cultural mediation and practical application,” the Pope continued. “All of these are expressions of a single love, which today calls you, sustains you, and sets you out on this shared quest. It is a mission. Our vocations may differ, but the mission is one.”
Pope Leo also encouraged the students to guard their hearts, nurture friendships, and “build the city in which God desires to dwell with all humanity in peace.”
The Pope concluded:
Look around you at university: the world is seated in your classrooms. Studying alongside you are people from Africa, Asia, the Americas, Europe and Oceania. Do not limit yourselves to simply sitting next to one another: get to know one another, talk to one another, listen to one another, share your experiences of the Church, pray together, share moments of leisure, and forge friendships that will last a lifetime.
The Lord tells us: “Ask, and it will be given you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who seeks finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened” (Lk 11:9–10). Encouraged by this promise, let us persevere together in prayer. Let us entrust the new academic year to the maternal intercession of Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, and welcome the Holy Spirit, whom our heavenly Father never fails to grant to those who ask with filial trust.
The Mass concluded with the chanting of the Salve Regina, which “the Pope listened to in prayerful silence before the wooden sculpture of Our Lady of Montserrat, placed beside the altar and adorned with white flowers,” the Vatican newspaper reported.
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Further information:
- Holy Mass for the Inauguration of the Academic Year of the Pontifical Universities (Dicastery for Communication - Vatican Media, 10/8/26)
- Pope: Posing questions is 'essential' part of the journey of faith (Vatican News, 10/8/26)
- Fostering critical thinking at Catholic universities can counter 'false teachers,' pope says (CNS, 10/8/26)
- Lo studio non sia accostamento di dati ma apertura dell’intelligenza al Risorto (L'Osservatore Romano, 10/9/26)
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