Pope Francis officially launched the Universidad del Sentido (University of Meaning) on Thursday, an autonomous university headquartered in the Vatican that aims to “address the crisis of meaning that ails the modern world.”

The launch was the culmination of the International Summit of Meaning, organized by the international educational organization, Scholas Occurrentes, which will also manage the university.

“It is a danger to confuse education with mere instruction. The University of Meaning invites us to work with three languages: that of the mind, the hands, and the heart,” said the pontiff when asked by Scholas about the new university’s significance.

The summit included university deans from around the world, young community leaders, and artists with the stated objective of “seeking concrete solutions to current and future challenges facing the world.” Participants handed Pope Francis a document with conclusions reached during the summit and proposals for the new university.

“The educator should think what he feels and what he does, feel what he thinks and what he does, do what he feels and what he thinks. If one does not move in the three languages, one is halfway there. The three senses give meaning.”

The University of Meaning was conceived as a global higher-education institution responding to the need to center education around the person as an individual and the community as an expression of plurality. It was formally established on August 15.

Pope Francis created Scholas in 2013, as a multicultural educational movement helping young people around the world to search for meaning in their lives. Since 2015, it has worked with a network of universities to develop educational content, as well as research and teacher training. 

Image: Scholas