University and Grand Chancellor Party 2026

On the 16th January 2026, the University feast was celebrated in the Auditorium of the Pontifical University Antonianum, presided over by the Grand Chancellor, Fr. Massimo Fusarelli, OFM, Minister General, together with the Rector, Fr. Agustín Hernández Vidales, OFM, the academic community and numerous guests from Asia, Africa, Latin America, the West and Europe. The morning was hosted by Sara Baranzoni.

In his initial greeting, the Rector thanked the Grand Chancellor, the teachers, the administrative staff, the students for the daily service that makes the mission of the Antonianum possible. I place today's feast on the path of the great Franciscan centenarians, remembering the anniversaries that began in 2019, the Franciscan University project, the Global Educational Pact wanted by Pope Francis and the years marked by the pandemic, which have called for creativity and resilience in academic life. Presenting some data, he underlined the growth of the stability of the faculty and the development of new initiatives, such as the Academy in Integral Ecology, the highly specialized programmes in Artificial Intelligence and the numerous inter-university collaborations and cooperation agreements, signs of an Athenaeum that wants to combine research, teaching and "third mission" at the service of the Church and society.

The floor then passed to Prof. Daniele Menozzi, professor emeritus of the École Normale Supérieure, who gave a videoconference on "St. Francis of Assisi in the teaching of Pope Francis", highlighting how the Pope looks at the “Poor Man” as an exemplary figure of poverty, peace and integral ecology. The artist Berger Mosbach then presented his work " exhibited on the upper floor of the University, recounting how the discreet and concrete witness The Death of St. Francis", of the friars, in particular with the poorest, has inspired his work.

In the concluding speech, Fr. Massimo Fusarelli drew attention to the identity of the Antonianum as an authentic Franciscan university. Connecting the feast with the opening of the Franciscan Centenary and the fiftieth anniversary of the death of Blessed Gabriel Maria Allegra, he presented this son of the Antonianum as a model of scholar and missionary of the Word of God in China. Through the so-called "Allegra method" – where intelligence and heart, research and prayer, competence and humility remain united – Fr. Massimo invited students, teachers and collaborators to be first and foremost listeners of the Word, capable of dialogue with cultures, of working in fraternity and of also taking advantage of digital tools without losing depth. Taking up the motto so dear to Blessed Allegra, "Nothing is impossible for those who pray, work and hope", he entrusted to the University the task of continuing to make the Gospel resound today, in the footsteps of St. Francis.

The day concluded with the presentation of the "Student of the Year" awards to doctoral students in theology, fundamental theology and spirituality, and with the proclamation of the winners of the "St Francis" Prize for research works on the Franciscan sources and theology. The laureates expressed gratitude to the Antonianum, to their own fraternities and to the study centers that support them, recalling how patient work on the texts is a service to the Church and to the Franciscan family.

Read the full text of the Minister General's Speech: Italiano

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