Pope says Rome university students can experience unity of church

Published: 2004-10-22

VATICAN CITY (CNS)-- The opportunity to study at one of the Vatican-chartered universities in Rome is an opportunity to experience "the unity and universality of the church," Pope John Paul II told thousands of students. At an Oct. 22 evening Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, the pope urged the students to use their years of study as a time of formation for living a truly Christian life. "I exhort you to put your talents at the service of the church with humility and generosity," said the pope's message to the students. Pope John Paul read a small part of his homily before handing the text to an assistant. Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, celebrated the Mass. About 20,000 seminarians, priests, religious and lay people from all over the world study at the pontifical universities in Rome, including Gregorian and Lateran universities, the University of St. Thomas Aquinas and the University of the Holy Cross.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .