Successful international meeting in Avila – ICUSTA revitalizes its spirit and mission
Since 21st to 23rd, last June, the 13th ICUSTA Conference was carried out in Universidad Católica de Avila, Spain. In this last version of our network biennial meeting, seventy five people participated as representing twenty three member institutions and five observer institutions, from fourteen countries of the five continents. The Rector of the host institution and President of ICUSTA for the last two years, Dr. María del Rosario Sáez Yuguero, claimed that they felt very proud to have hosted this event this year, and added:
“I think we are going through a very important moment in this Thomistic network, that has met here in order to see how we can make that the search for truth becomes the essential core of our universities”.
Indeed, with the magnificent cultural and spiritual frame of the walled city of Avila, this extremely fruitful three-day event took place. Its general theme, “The Spirit of St. Thomas Today”, was masterfully presented by Msgr Jean-Louis Bruguès in the opening lecture. The current Librarian and Archivist of the Vatican stated during his presentation:
“To me, it seems that Thomas could act as our advocate, trying to convince us on the truth of things and on the dignity of the human person”.
The main goal of this meeting was to reinforce the commitment toward ICUSTA’s identity and mission, plus the search for new cooperative ways, in the context of the upcoming celebration of this organization’s 25th anniversary. Thus, during the meeting, participants analyzed the solidary activities carried out by the institutions in low-income countries and communities, double-degree agreements and other shared academic projects, as well as diverse integration initiatives between faith and reason. In this opportunity, two important announcements were made: the newly launched contest for Solidarity Projects and the upcoming development of a Thomistic Studies Program for all ICUSTA Faculty.
In this thirteenth Biennial, the recently created Council of Honor made its debut and played a remarkable role. Such entity is composed of ten key people for history and spirit of the network. All of them uttered meaningful words regarding the origins, trajectory and the deepest meaning of ICUSTA, thus motivating those present and especially the newest association members. The first Executive Director of the network, Joseph McFadden, remarked in his message:
“I thank my many ICUSTA friends for their support, inspiration and most of all their faith in ICUSTA”. He added: “There is a world out there in need and we have a responsibility as Catholic Institutions of Higher Learning to go out into that world with our faculty, our staff and most importantly our students to discover those needs”.
Besides, the five members of this Council who were able to participate in this activity, proposed a series of concrete initiatives in order to strengthen our foundational identity.
In turn, the Rectors and Delegates Assembly welcomed the representatives of the recently added Institut Catholique de Rennes and took on some important resolutions for the organization, such as: the inclusion of the expression “In the spirit” within the official ICUSTA name and the approval of other structural and economic changes in its By-laws; the host Institutions for the next two Biennials and the members of the new Executive Committee.
The heads of International relations, for their part, suggested a series of concrete projects in order to increase the exchange of students, Faculty, programs and resources. The Director of International Projects of UST Chile and member of the ICUSTA Steering Committee, Roberto Lafontaine, claimed:
“The contribution to academic and exchange development, sharing common Thomistic values, is extremely relevant for this university network.”
All of the above was carried out in an extraordinary friendship environment and complemented with solemn Eucharistic celebrations in the Cathedral of Avila and in the Monastery of Saint Thomas, with the active participation of the Bishop and the Prior of the Dominican convent, as well as with a visit to the Monastery of the Incarnation and to the medieval wall. Also, there were pleasant evening events, enlivened by the University choir and enhanced with the presence of the Mayor of the city.
For more information about this meeting, you can visit its webpage in our Biennials section.