On June 23, 2023, during Mass on the eve of the Solemnity of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, the 2022-23 academic year of the Pontifical Faculty of St. Bonaventure (Seraphicum) in Rome was officially concluded. The Mass was presided over by His Eminence, Cardinal Augusto Paolo LOJUDICE, Archbishop of Siena, Italy, who is connected with the Seraphicum by virtue of his role as auxiliary bishop of the southern sector of Rome.
The cardinal addressed his homily to the students and teachers of the Faculty and beginning with the readings of the day, he pointed out how God can never be confined within a frame. The search for God is a continuous search, as theologians well know, because God continually reveals himself in the fullness of the revelation completed in Christ. Theology, which is an essential tool for the activities of the Church, must have the style of Jesus living in the world, namely, being on the street with the disciples and the crowds. Only in this way does tradition develop for the good of the Church and the world, because spreading the Gospel is a responsibility entrusted to a us all.
At the end of the celebration, commemorative plaques were awarded to the students who this year earned bachelor’s degrees (Friars Emiliano DI SEBASTIANO and Luca FIUME), a Licentiate in Theology (Francesco GIACOMIN), certificates of completion of their courses in Graphology (Felice DI MAIOLO and Serena GIACOBONE) and a Doctorate in Sacred Theology (Friar José Alberto SUÁREZ ALEMÁN).
Those attending this solemn academic event included the Minister General, Friar Carlos A. TROVARELLI, the professors and students of theology and graphology, the staff of the Faculty, and friars from around the world who were in Rome to attend the Order’s fraternal “Midway Meeting.”
Friar Roberto LIGGERI
