César Izquierdo, new member of the Pontifical Council for Historical Sciences committee

Pope Francis has appointed University Professor César Izquierdo Urbina as a new member of the Vatican's Pontifical committee of Historical Sciences. Director of the journal Scripta Theologica and Associate Dean of the School of Theology, Professor Izquierdo holds a doctorate in Theology and a doctorate in Philosophy, in 1980 and 1988 respectively.

Professor Izquierdo assures that by joining the Pontifical committee he hopes to serve the purposes for which the Holy See established this organ of enquiry and the promotion of the historical sciences, so closely linked to theology. He also emphasizes that although he does not know what tasks he will be entrusted with, he would like to contribute, above all, the historical vision of theology: "I am not a professional historian and, therefore, my contribution could move in the field above all of the history of ideas. I think it is important to emphasize that the Pontifical committee belongs to the historical sciences, in the plural, and therefore not only to historiography".

A native of Huércanos (La Rioja), he is currently head of the Chair of Fundamental Theology in the academic center and professor of Christology. In addition, in 2012 he was appointed member of the Theological Advisory Commission of the Spanish Episcopal lecture .

His research focuses on the history of French theological thought of the 19th-20th centuries, the thought of Maurice Blondel, tradition in the Church, Christology, etc. He has made scientific stays at the Centre d'Archives Maurice Blondel of the Université de Louvain-la-Neuve, at the University of St. Andrews, at the University of Oxford and at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana (USA).