On September 21, 2023, 216 presidents and rectors from public and private universities across Latin America and the Caribbean took part in a meeting with Pope Francis. It was a historic audience that followed a proposal presented by the Network of Universities for the Care of Our Common Home (RUC) to the Pontifical Commission for Latin America.
Universities of the Three Americas and the Iberian Peninsula Committed to Fraternal Social Dialogue for the Care of Our Common Home
[2023] September – Rome
Organizing Hope.
Meeting of Latin American and Caribbean Rectors with Pope Francis Rome, September 21, 2023
Dialogue of His Holiness Pope Francis with Rectors of Latin American Universities (in spanish)
MEDIA COVERAGE (in spanish)
VATICAN NEWS El Papa Francisco con rectores universitarios: "Organizando la esperanza" - Vatican News
L´Osservatore Romano Udienza del Papa ai partecipanti all’incontro dei rettori di università dell’America latina - L'Osservatore Romano
[2025] May - Rio de Janeiro
Preparatory Congress of Ibero-American Universities for COP30
Ecological Debt and Public Hope. Ten Years after Laudato si’.
Ten years after Laudato si’ and on the road to COP30 in Belém, the University Network for the Care of Our Common Home (RUC), with the support of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America (PCAL) and the Association of Jesuit Universities in Latin America (AUSJAL), organized the Second Synodal Meeting of University Rectors. The event took place from May 20 to 24, 2025, at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio), with the sponsorship of CAF, Porticus, and the OEI.
This was an academic event of high international relevance, bringing together more than 150 public and private universities from Latin America and the Caribbean, Spain, Portugal, and the United States, in keeping with the legacy of Pope Francis.
Pope Leo XIV took part in the meeting through a video message—the first of his pontificate—in which he called on universities to serve as bridges for justice and integration.
This Ibero-American event also featured the participation and active promotion of the Brazilian government, represented by Marina Silva, Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.
RIO DECLARATION: Global Call for Climate Justice (in spanish)
MEDIA COVERAGE (in spanish)
VATICAN NEWS 10 años de Laudato Si’, 200 universidades se reúnen en Rio para preparar la COP30
ADN CELAM. Brasil: 200 universidades analizan participación en la COP30 y celebran 10 años de Laudato Si'
ADN CELAM. Universidades católicas de América en la vanguardia del cuidado de la casa común