Elena Beccalli, Rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, has been elected Vice -President of the International Federation of Catholic Universities (FIUC) and a member of the Board of Directors of the institution that brings together over 240 universities and higher education companies, present in more than 60 countries distributed in the five continents.
For the three-year period 2025-2028 he will lead the Federation Father Francisco Ramírez Yáñez, Rector of the University of the Valle de Atemajac, who happens to Isabel Capeloa Gil, rector of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa.
The election took place during the 28th general assembly of the FIUC Hosted, from 28 July to 1 August, by the University of the Valle de Atemajac (United), to Guadalajara, Mexico.
The event also represented the final moment of the celebrations for the centenary of the Federation, founded in 1924 on the initiative of the founder of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Father Agostino Gemelli, and Katholieke University Nijmegen, in Nimega in the Netherlands.
The prestigious assignment of Professor Beccalli, who takes place a few months after his election to the Presidency of the Fuce (the European Section of Fiuc), represents a recognition of the leading role played by the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in the international scenario of higher education, as well as its cultural and scientific commitment to the service of integral human development.
«It is a great honor to take on the vice -president of Fiuc, at a time when the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart looks with responsibility and strategic vision on the international scene. This assignment confirms our attention to the world and for the world“, Said Beccalli,” the federation represents an authoritative voice in the panorama of higher education, capable of promoting interdisciplinary dialogue and of putting universities of all parts of the world on the net, with a constant look at global issues, the construction of the common good and the promotion of the dignity of the person “, continues the rector of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Elena Beccalli.
«In the next three years, The intent will be further consolidating the commitment of the Catholic universities to keep its voice alive, reaffirming the central role of education, of university education and culture, always fundamental levers to promote peace and encourage full development. This will require to tighten new and stronger links with the actors of the communities in which Catholic universities operate, making themselves available to involve all their resources to generate a knowledge at the service of civil and church society “, continues the Rector Beccalli.
In fact, the FIUC brings the voice of the Catholic universities to the offices of significant international bodies. The Federation enjoys the consultative status to the United Nations organization for education, science and culture (UNESCO), in Paris, and to the Economic and Social Council of the UN (Ecosoc), in New York; While at the Council of Europe, in Strasbourg, benefits from the participatory status.
In addition, it is present in the OECD Higher Education Stakeholder forum and in the network of Think Tank and the academic institutions of the ISC. He collaborates with the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the Holy See Agency for the evaluation and promotion of the quality of universities and ecclesiastical faculties (Avepro) and several other dicasteries, including that for full human development.
«In the global context, The Catholic University of the Sacred Heart is confirmed as an authoritative actor in promoting a model of university capable of combining scientific rigoridentity principles and social responsibility, “adds the rector Elena Beccalli. «Active participation in international coutures such as FIUC and FUCE, combined with strategic initiatives such as the Piano Africa, testifies to an inclusive and solidarity vision of higher education, oriented towards the construction of bridges between cultures, the integral training of the person and the promotion of the common good. Through a growing network of academic and institutional collaborations, the University helps to give shape to a global university rooted in Christian values and open to the challenges of our time “.
The new governance of the FIUC
In addition to the president Father Francisco Ramírez Yáñez And to the vice -president Elena Beccalli, the General Assembly has elected vice -presidents Stephen Morgan, University of Saint Joseph of Macao in China, e Katia Passerini, Gonzaga University of Spokane, in the state of Washington.
This composition reflects the intercultural and global horizon of the FIUC whose goal is to promote academic cooperation between Catholic universities in a perspective of justice, peace and common good.
The Fiuc General Assembly is an important appointment that is renewed every three years and which, in 2028, will be held at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa. This year’s edition, Open by a video message from Pope Leo XIV who urged the Catholic universities to become “itineraries of the mind towards God”, It was divided into five days animated by debates, meetings, workshops, conferences.
A precious opportunity that has offered to over two hundred participants the opportunity to listen to, dialogue and reflect on identity, mission, future perspectives, starting from the common theme: “Catholic universities, choreographers of knowledge”. In particular, The rector Elena Beccalli intervened at the “Catholic University and the Business World: Inspiring Examples of Collaboration” workshop Where, together with other illustrious representatives of Catholic universities, he analyzed the theme of universities’ relations with the entrepreneurial sector illustrating successful cases and strategic synergies established by the University with the world of business.
Among these, the activities of E4impact Foundationthe Foundation born in 2015 from a Spin Off by Altis, the Graduate School of Sustainable Management of the University, and the Africa Plan of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart.
What is FIUC
The International Federation of Catholic Universities, established in 1924, began to develop concretely only after the Second World War.
Recognized by a decree of the Holy See in 1948 and by Pope Pius XII in 1949, in 1965 he assumed the current name cOn a global level its mission that translates into the shared commitment to enhance, on the one hand, university education and scientific research inspired by Catholic values, on the other, actively contribute to the international debate on crucial issues, making available knowledge, skills and expertise useful for political and institutional decision makers in generating planning oriented to the common good.
