University Bridges for Inclusion

University Bridges of Inclusion are inspired by this mission: to transform the university into an open and supportive space, capable of generating concrete alternatives to the challenges of our time.

This Bridge arises from the conviction that the university cannot remain closed in on itself or become trapped in dynamics of power, interests, or elitism. Its deepest vocation is to exercise a critical and proactive role in society, contributing knowledge and practices that promote social justice, inclusion, and integral human development. As Pope Francis has noted, the university is called to be a laboratory of wisdom, where scientific and technical approaches are harmonized with the humanistic one, uniting mind, heart, and hands within a shared educational horizon.

Interdisciplinarity, dialogue among different forms of knowledge, and freedom of research are essential to ensuring that the university remains a place of truth, spiritual freedom, and intellectual honesty.

Beyond training professionals, this Bridge seeks to enable universities to become sources of social inclusion and community hope. In this way, the university becomes a fruitful periphery, capable of welcoming and alleviating the existential forms of poverty of our time, linking learning with transformative commitment and acting as a strategic actor in the task of organizing hope and making a more just, fraternal, and inclusive society possible.

ACTIVITIES

SYNODAL ENCOUNTERS OF POPE FRANCIS WITH UNIVERSITY STUDENTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD

CONTINENTAL ENCOUNTERS

Pope Francis called the entire Roman Catholic Church to undertake a global process of shared discernment. This was the Synod on Synodality 2021–2024.

Inspired by this call, Loyola University Chicago, together with the PCAL, launched the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI): a series of university-led, student-centered events. Through this initiative, the formation of student groups across broad geographic regions was facilitated and supported, enabling them to listen, dialogue, and discern together.

Representatives of these groups met with Pope Francis virtually and through live-streamed events, where they shared and discussed with him the experiences and hopes of their communities.

Four encounters were held between university students and Pope Francis: in the Americas, Africa, South Asia, and Asia-Pacific.

The Building Bridges Initiative: Loyola University Chicago/PCAL

UNIVERSITIES COMMITTED TO THE CARE OF OUR COMMON HOME

Organizing Hope.

Meeting of Latin American and Caribbean Rectors with Pope Francis Rome, September 21, 2023

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.

DIALOGUE OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS WITH THE RECTORS OF UNIVERSITIES IN LATIN AMERICA (in Spanish)

AUDIENCE WITH FRANCIS – RED RUC Network (in Spanish)

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.

Congress Website

Red RUC Website

RIO DECLARATION – Global Call for Climate Justice (in Spanish)