“I would like to develop a theology of imperfection, fallibility, and good humor”

After nearly forty years of teaching pastoral ministry, Professor J. José Alviar is concluding his tenure as a full-time faculty member at the University of Navarra with a clear conviction: theology must also make room for “imperfection, fallibility, and good humor.” He made this statement on May 20 during a lecture delivered before professors, students, colleagues, and friends in the classroom of the Schools .

In his presentation, titled “Reflections on Forty Years of work and Pastoral work at the University of Navarra,” Professor Alviar recalled his early days in Pamplona, where he arrived on September 2, 1985, “exactly three months after” his ordination in Rome. That first contact the Faculty was marked by an intensive remedial course in which, as he explained, “each topic taught topic the Senior Associate Professor.” Among his anecdotes, he highlighted the attention of some professors, such as when, after a class, one of them spontaneously invited the students for coffee to chat. reference letter also reference letter licentiate degree classes licentiate degree by some professors “with cigarette smoke and wisdom”: “Those were different times,” he summarized.

During his formative years, the professor highlighted several lessons that would shape his research career. In particular, he humorously recounted the moment he had to choose topic minor thesis. After presenting Professor José Luis Illanes with a list of as many as fourteen possible lines of work, the response was blunt: “None of the above.” That experience taught him that “students know very little about what is truly worth researching.” Ultimately, he chose to study, under the supervision of Professor José Morales, vocation in Origen, a decision that, as he stated, decisively shaped his subsequent development .

“Providence seems to put us ‘amarronas’ in surreal situations”

Among the most striking episodes in his account, he highlighted an incident that he interpreted in light of what he called his own “theory of providence.” After safely stowing away hundreds of research notes research a trip, a fire ravaged the conference room he had stored them. However, when he retrieved them, he discovered they were intact. “For very ‘meticulous’ people like me, who want to have everything planned and under control, providence takes it upon itself to put us in surreal situations,” he said. 

In his remarks, he paid tribute to various professors at the University for whom he has great respect and whom he did not fail to thank, including some of the late senior faculty members, such as José Morales, Lucas F. Mateo-Seco, José Luis Illanes, Antonio Ruiz Retegui, Jutta Burggraf, and José Ramón Villar, among others.  

Throughout his remarks, Professor J. José Alviar also reflected on his intense pastoral dedication, particularly as a chaplain for international students for nearly four decades. That contact with people from different cultures, beliefs, and life paths profoundly shaped his way of teaching and understanding theology. “My pastoral work has helped me develop a theological mind with its feet on the ground,” he stated, emphasizing how experiences of conversion, accompaniment, and dialogue have enriched his work . In closing, he asked for forgiveness for his mistakes and offered a summary of his life and intellectual journey: “I would like to develop a theology not of perfection, but of imperfection; not of infallibility, but of fallibility; not of seriousness, but of good humor.”