Pontifical university located in Rome, Italy
The
Pontifical Gregorian University
(
Italian
:
Pontificia Universita Gregoriana
; also known as the
Gregorian
or
Gregoriana
), is a higher education ecclesiastical school (
pontifical university
) located in
Rome
, Italy.
The Gregorian originated as a part of the
Roman College
, founded in 1551 by
Ignatius of Loyola
,
[4]
and included all grades of schooling. Its chairs of philosophy and theology received Papal approval in 1556, making it the first institution founded by the
Society of Jesus
(Jesuits). In 1584, the Roman College was given a new home by
Pope Gregory XIII
, after whom it was renamed the Gregorian University.
[5]
[
better source needed
]
It had distinguished scholars in ecclesiastical fields as well as in natural science and mathematics. Only the theology and philosophy departments of the Gregorian survived the political turmoil in Italy after 1870.
Today, the Gregorian has an international faculty and around 2,750 students from over 150 countries.
History
[
edit
]
Founding
[
edit
]
Ignatius of Loyola
, the founder of the Society of Jesus, established a School of Grammar, Humanities, and Christian Doctrine (
Scuola di grammatica, d'umanita e di Dottrina cristiana
) in Rome on 18 February 1551. It was located in a building at the base of the
Capitoline Hill
, on what is today the
Piazza d'Aracoeli
.
[6]
Francis Borgia
, the viceroy of Catalonia and a Catholic patron, provided financial support for the new school.
With a small library connected to it, the school was called the Roman College (
Collegio Romano
). In September 1551, due to its increased enrollment, the college moved to a larger facility behind the
Santo Stefano del Cacco Church
in Rome. After only two years of operation, the Roman College had 250 graduates.
Early growth
[
edit
]
In January 1556,
Pope Paul IV
authorized the Roman College to confer academic degrees in theology and philosophy, elevating it to the rank of university. During the following 20 years, ever increasing enrollment forced the college to move to larger facilities twice. During this period, the college added chairs in
moral philosophy
and Arabic to the existing chairs in Latin, Greek, and
Hebrew
.
When the college reached an enrollment of 1000 students,
Pope Gregory XIII
decided to build it a more expansive facility. He expropriated two city blocks in Rome near the
Via del Corso
and commissioned the architect
Bartolomeo Ammannati
to design a new building. The new college building was inaugurated in 1584 in what became known as the Piazza Collegio Romano, across from the
Palazzo Doria Pamphilj
. In gratitude for Gregory XIII's sponsorship, the college administration lauded him as its "founder and father" and renamed the Roman College as the Gregorian University.
The new space at Piazza Collegio Romano allowed the Gregorian University to add chairs of church history and
liturgy
. The Gregorian soon became known for its work in mathematics, physics and astronomy.
Christopher Clavius
, then a professor at the Gregorian, developed the
Gregorian calendar
that is still used worldwide today. The Jesuit mathematician
Athanasius Kircher
also later taught at the Gregorian. Not long after its Piazza Collegio Romano site opened, the Gregorian had 2000 students. Due to the limited size of its chapel, the Gregorian started rebuilding it in 1626 as the
Church of Sant'Ignazio
. Completed in 1650, the church is considered one of the major
Baroque
churches in the Rome area.
Modern era
[
edit
]
In 1773, following the
suppression of the Society of Jesus
throughout Europe, the Jesuits were forced to cede control over the Gregorian University to the Diocese of Rome. However,
Pope Leo XII
returned the Gregorian to Jesuit control on 17 May 1824 after the reestablishment of the Society of Jesus.
With the
Capture of Rome
in 1870, Rome and the
Papal States
were incorporated into the new
Kingdom of Italy
. The new government of Italy then confiscated the Gregorian property and building, converting it into the
Ennio Quirino Visconti Liceo Ginnasio
. The Gregorian was forced to move into a much smaller facility at the
Palazzo Gabrielli-Borromeo
on Via del Seminario in Rome. Due to its lack of space, the Gregorian was forced to drop all of its faculties except for theology and philosophy. Enrollment dropped to under 250 students by 1875.
Pope Pius IX
later granted the Gregorian the title "Pontifical University". In 1876, the Faculty of
Canon Law
was transferred from the
University of Rome La Sapienza
to the Gregorian, and the university gradually resumed the teaching of other disciplines. After World War I,
Pope Benedict XV
and his successor,
Pope Pius XI
, worked to create a new campus for the Gregorian at the base of
Quirinal Hill
, adjacent to the
Pontifical Biblical Institute
(
Biblicum
).
[7]
Pius XI laid the first stone for the new campus on 27 December 1924. Designed by architect Giulio Barluzzi in
Neoclassical style
, it was completed by 1930. After moving to the new campus, the Gregorian continued to expand to new faculties and disciplines as well as to add new buildings. The Pontifical Institute Regina Mundi, dedicated to the theological formation of women, opened in 1955 and closed in 2005.
[8]
[9]
Today
[
edit
]
Today the Gregorian University has approximately 2,750 students from over 150 countries. About 70% of the students are foreign nationals, with 65% of them coming from non-
European Union
countries.
[10]
Most students are priests, seminarians, and members of religious orders. After the
Second Vatican Council
, the first women to earn doctoral degrees at the university were
Sandra Schneiders, IHM
, and Mary Milligan,
RSHM
. Both graduates became authorities in
New Testament Theology
and Christian Spirituality.
[10]
The Gregorian faculties are approximately 60% Italian and mainly Jesuit priests.
[11]
[7]
In recent years, there has been an increase in laity in both the faculties and the student body; today, diocesan and religious priests represent about 45%, seminarians 25%, lay men and women 22%, and nuns 8% of the student body.
[12]
Around 1970, the Gregorian discontinued Latin as the principal language of instruction by lecturers and examiners.
[7]
Since the Gregorian is a
pontifical university
, the
Holy See
accredits its curriculum, and its degrees have full effect in
canon law
. However, its
licentiates
in philosophy and
theology
are conferred by some Jesuit universities worldwide, entitling recipients to teach in major seminaries.
Allegations of widespread plagiarism
[
edit
]
According to plagiarism expert Michael Dougherty, there was a "systematic failure to maintain academic integrity at the doctoral level at the Gregorian University in specific disciplines during a relatively recent period."
[13]
His 2024 book focused on violations of academic integrity at the famous university from 1995 to 2014, arguing that nine dissertations were severely deficient. Among the works Dougherty analyzes were dissertations submitted by the bishops
Paul Kariuki Njiru
,
Fintan Gavin
, and
Stephen Robson
.
Academics
[
edit
]
Gregorian Consortium
[
edit
]
The Gregorian University is one of three member institutes that make up the
Gregorian Consortium
; the other two institutions are the
Pontifical Biblical Institute
(founded in 1909) and the
Pontifical Oriental Institute
(founded in 1917).
[7]
The Consortium was created under
Pope Pius XI
, in 1928.
Academic units
[
edit
]
The Pontifical Gregorian University has six faculties, three institutes and five centres, all of which offer academic degrees.
- Faculties:
- Canon Law (
minors:
Matrimonial Jurisprudence, Penal Jurisprudence)
- History and Cultural Heritage of the Church (
majors:
Cultural Heritage of the Church, History of the Church)
- Missiology (
minors:
Missio Ad Gentes
, New Evangelization, Theology of Religions)
- Philosophy (
minors:
Practical Philosophy, Theoretical Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion)
- Social Sciences (
majors:
Social Communication, Social Doctrine of the Church, Sociology, Leadership and Management)
- Theology (
majors:
Biblical Theology, Dogmatic Theology, Fundamental Theology, Moral Theology, Patristic, Comparative Christian Theology, Spiritual Theology, Vocational Theology)
- Institutes:
- Anthropology (former Centre for Child Protection)
- Psychology
- Spirituality
- Centres:
- Centre "Alberto Hurtado" for Faith and Culture
- Centre "Cardinal Bea" for Judaic Studies
- Centre "Saint Peter Favre" for Formators to the Priesthood and Religious Life
- Gregorian Centre for Interreligious Studies
- Ignatian Spirituality Centre
Through the Gregorian Consortium, students are also able to pursue courses in the two Pontifical Institutes.
- Pontifical Biblical Institute:
- Faculty of Ancient Near Eastern Studies
- Faculty of Sacred Scriptures
- Pontifical Oriental Institute:
- Faculty of Eastern Canon Law
- Faculty of Eastern Ecclesiastical Sciences (
majors:
History, Liturgy, Patristics)
Libraries
[
edit
]
The three libraries of the Gregorian Consortium contain nearly 1.2 million volumes,
[7]
with large collections in the fields of theology, philosophy, culture and literature. The original Roman College library was founded in 1556. In 1872, the Gregorian library's 45,000 volumes, manuscripts, and archives were confiscated by the new Italian state; they were dispersed, with some of the collection going to the new
Rome National Central Library
.
Since 1928, the Gregorian library has been located on the Gregorian campus at Quirinal Hill. The majority of the library's collection, 820,000 volumes, is housed in a six-floor tower adjacent to the Palazzo Centrale. An additional 60,000 volumes are housed in the six reading rooms, which together seat 400 students. The library's reserve contains many ancient and precious books as well as rare editions, including 80 books from the 16th century.
Archives of the Pontifical Gregorian University
[
edit
]
The Archives of the Pontifical Gregorian University (APUG) contain Jesuit records from the founding of the Roman College in 1551 to the suppression of the Jesuits in 1773. APUG has over 5,000 manuscripts for teaching
rhetoric
, grammar, philosophy and theology along with research on Greek and Latin classics,
astronomy
, mathematics, physics, Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Arabic.
Many of the APUG manuscripts were copied by auditores, others are autographs of masters such as Famiano Strada, Christopher Clavius,
Francisco Suarez
, Roberto Bellarmino,
Mutio Vitelleschi
, Roger Joseph Boscovich,
Juan Bautista Villalpando
,
Francisco de Toledo
. In some cases, these lesson notes gave origin to important works, like the Bellarmino's Controversie, of which APUG owns a copy with a lot of handwritten notes by the author. Other important documents at APUG include
Athanasius Kircher
's correspondence, the Christopher Clavius's correspondence or the codex used by
Francesco Sforza Pallavicino
to write his
Istoria del Concilio di Trento
.
Many miscellaneous documents at APUG highlight the relations between the Roman College and many of the Jesuits in mission around the world. These documents provide insight on the Church Reforms, the grace or moral debates, the
Jansenist
polemic and Chinese rites. APUG also contains documentation about the teaching activity from the 19th century until today: it is the official repository for all the professors who have taught at the Gregorian since 1873. This also includes documents on the
First Vatican Council
and the
Second Vatican Council
.
Gregorian and Biblical Press (1913?2023)
[
edit
]
The GBPress (Gregorian and Biblical Press) was founded, financed, and run by the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. Founded in 1913 and closed in 2023, it printed documents and published periodicals and monographs in most major theological subject areas. Very many of the dissertations accepted by the university were published there.
[14]
According to Article 16 of the
Lateran Treaty
, a 1929 agreement between the
Government of Italy
and the
Holy See
, the Gregorian University enjoys a certain level of
extraterritoriality
. According to the treaty, Italy can never subject the university to "charges or to expropriation for reasons of public utility, save by previous agreement with the Holy See." The Gregorian is also exempt from all Italian tax and is included among those Roman buildings for which the Holy See has the right to deal "as it may deem fit, without obtaining the authorization or consent of the Italian governmental, provincial, or communal authority."
[15]
Notable students and professors
[
edit
]
Gregorian's alumni include 17 popes,
[7]
such as
Pope Gregory XV
, Pope Urban VIII,
Pope Innocent X
, Pope Clement XI,
Pope Leo XIII
, Pope Pius XII,
Pope Paul VI
, and
Pope John Paul I
. Eight of the last eleven popes were alumni of the Gregorian.
[7]
Other students include 72 saints and
beatified
persons
[7]
including
Saint Robert Bellarmine
, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga and
Saint Maximilian Kolbe
. Former Gregorian professors include
Joseph Ratzinger
, later Pope Benedict XVI, a visiting professor in the Faculty of Theology from 1972 to 1973.
[7]
[16]
Gregorian alumni and professors include:
- Bartholomew I
, Greek Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople and New Rome
- Mar
Joseph Kallarangatt
, Indian theologian and bishop of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palai
- Simona Brambilla
, Italian nun and member of Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life
- Roger Boscovich
, Croat Jesuit priest, physicist and mathematician
- James Tunstead Burtchaell, American priest, university provost and professor
- David Cairns
, Scottish politician
- Christopher Clavius
, German Jesuit priest and inventor of the Gregorian calendar
- Brenda Dolphin
, psychologist, Sister of Mercy and Postulator for the Cause of
Catherine McAuley
- Friedrich Dorr
, German priest, professor and hymnwriter
- Jules Mazarin
, French cardinal and prime minister to the
French Monarchy
- Joseph Perumthottam
, Indian Metropolitan of the
Syro-Malabar Catholic Archeparchy of Changanacherry
- Reginald Foster
, American priest,
Latinist
and professor
- Filippo Grandi
, Italian Commissioner-General of
UNRWA
- Peter Henrici
, Swiss Jesuit priest, philosopher and
Auxiliary Bishop of Chur
- Wilhelm Imkamp
, German priest, theologian and professor
- Francesco Lana de Terzi
, Italian Jesuit priest and aeronautics scientist
- Bernard Lonergan
, Canadian Jesuit priest, philosopher, theologian and economist
- Heinrich Maier
, Austrian priest and resistance fighter against
Nazi Germany
- Mary McAleese
, former President of Ireland
- John Navone
, American Jesuit priest, professor, theologian and author
- Denis Fahey
, Irish priest and theological writer
- Athanasius Kircher
, German Jesuit priest, scholar and polymath
- Hans Kung
, Swiss priest and theologian
- Charles Curran
, American priest and moral theologian
- Vincenzo Riccati
, Venetian Jesuit priest and inventor of hyperbolic functions
- Luca Valerio
, Italian Jesuit priest and mathematician
- Paul Guldin
, Swiss Jesuit priest, mathematician and astronomer
- Oscar Romero
, Salvadoran archbishop and activist
- Gian Vittorio Rossi
, Italian poet, philologist and historian
- Andrea Salvadori
, Italian poet and librettist
- Henricus Smeulders
, Belgian Procurator General of the
Cistercian Order
- John Wijngaards
, Dutch theologian and former priest
- James V. Schall
, American Jesuit priest, writer, philosopher and professor
- Francis A. Sullivan
, American Jesuit priest, theologian and professor
- Anderson Sunda-Meya
, Congolese-American physicist and educator
- David Tracy
, American priest, theologian and professor
- Niccolo Zucchi
, Italian Jesuit priest, astronomer and
physicist
- Patrick Augustine Kalilombe
, Malawian theologian and Bishop of
Lilongwe
- Samuel Ruiz
, Mexican theologian and bishop of
San Cristobal de Las Casas
- Ademar Agostinho Sauthier
, Brazilian theologian
- Sandra M. Schneiders
, American theologian, writer and professor
- Princess India of Afghanistan
- Mary Milligan
, theologian and professor. First woman to graduate from the Gregorian
[17]
- Paolo Benanti
, Franciscan priest, theologian and professor
- Aquilino Cayuela
, Spanish writer and professor specializing in moral philosophy, politics, bioethics, and theology
- Giovanni Cesare Pagazzi
, titular archbishop of
Belcastro
The majority of the church's leaders graduated from the Gregorian; one-third of the current
College of Cardinals
studied there at one time or another, and more than 900 bishops worldwide are among its 12,000 living alumni.
[7]
See also
[
edit
]
Further reading
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Fr. Mark A. Lewis is the new Rector of the Gregorian University | the Society of Jesus"
.
- ^
"Ordo anni academici"
(PDF)
(in Italian). Rome: Pontifical Gregorian University. 2017 [2016]. p. 181
. Retrieved
18 June
2017
.
- ^
"Information Magazine of the Pontifical Gregorian University"
(PDF)
. Rome: Pontifical Gregorian University. 2019. p. 38
. Retrieved
10 November
2019
.
- ^
Amir Alexander
(2014).
Infinitesimal: How a Dangerous Mathematical Theory Shaped the Modern World
. Scientific American / Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
ISBN
978-0-374-17681-5
.
, p. 44
- ^
it:Collegio Romano
- ^
O'Malley, John (1993).
The First Jesuits
. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. p.
366
.
ISBN
978-0-674-30313-3
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
"Fact Sheet"
. The Gregorian University Foundation. 2010. Archived from
the original
on 4 March 2010
. Retrieved
20 July
2010
.
- ^
"Mission Fulfilled, Regina Mundi to Close"
. 24 May 2005.
- ^
"Theological Institute for Women Reaches a Milestone"
. 15 March 2005.
- ^
a
b
"Admission"
.
www.unigre.it
.
- ^
"Academic Year 2018/2019"
(PDF)
.
Information Magazine of the Pontifical Gregorian University
.
54
: 36.
- ^
"Academic Year 2018/2019"
(PDF)
.
Information Magazine of the Pontifical Gregorian University
.
XXIV
: 36. 2019.
- ^
V. Dougherty, M. (21 May 2024).
New Techniques for Proving Plagiarism: Case Studies from the Sacred Disciplines at the Pontifical Gregorian University
. Brill. p. 16.
doi
:
10.1163/9789004699854
.
ISBN
978-90-04-69985-4
.
- ^
Liber annualis. Pontificia Universita Gregoriana
. Rome (published 2023). 31 July 2023. p. 196.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link
)
- ^
"Lateran Conciliation Treaty (1929): text"
.
Concordat watch
. Archived from
the original
on 11 June 2024
. Retrieved
11 June
2024
.
- ^
For a summary description of all of the set of scholars and literati who intervened in teaching at the University Gregorian University of Rome since its inception to the suppression of the Society of Jesus in 1773, see
David de la Croix
and Soraya Karioun (2021).
Scholars and Literati at the Gregorian University of Rome (1551?1773)
.
Repertorium Eruditorum Totius Europae/RETE. 3:19?26
.
- ^
Poss, Janice. Chapter 7 "Mary Milligan, RSHM, STD: Selvage Leadership within the Fabric of Church" in Colleen D. Hartung, editor. Challenging Bias against Women Academics in Religion, October 25, 2021, atla open press, pages 145-175 ISBN 978-1949800272
https://doi.org/10.31046/atlaopenpress.46
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