Ismael Sánchez Bella, Full Professor of History of Law, first Dean of his School of Law, first President, and first of everything at the University of Navarra, has just left us in his beloved Pamplona.

Intelligent, audacious, visionary and nonconformist, Sánchez Bella made a challenge to his own life when he threw all his talent, which was no small thing, into one of the most stimulating Spanish intellectual projects of the last century: the establishment of the University of Navarra. The idea was not his, but Josemaría Escrivá's, but he soon took it on as his own because Escrivá and Sánchez Bella were very much in tune with each other. They understood each other with their eyes. That is no metaphor. One day, Don Ismael himself told me. Escrivá was chatting with a group of professors and students at group . high school Mayor Aralar. In one corner of the conference room, at a certain distance, was Sánchez Bella. At a certain moment, St. Josemaría interrupted his speech, looked fixedly at Ismael and said, "Not like that!" And he continued. Sánchez Bella got the message at first glance, smiled, and Escrivá soon replied, "Now, yes!" Don Ismael was tired and his gesture reflected it. St. Josemaría demanded an optimistic smile, always, even in moments of fatigue, and it was precisely this energizing smile that accompanied Don Ismael throughout his life.

I remember as if it were today that midday in June 1981, when ETA attacked the University of Navarra for the second time, and it would not be the last. In the midst of the initial chaos, Don Ismael's presence was felt. With great serenity, surrounded by students, professors and workers, Sánchez Bella sowed peace in abundance. Standing next to Don Ismael, a few meters from the burning building, I was eighteen years old at the time, I felt comforted. "If the building blows up, we'll build another one," said Sánchez Bella, playing down what had happened. Yes, dynamite could destroy concrete walls, but not the Christian intellectual ideal at the service of humanity that he harbored in his heart.

Despite being everything at the University of Navarra, Sánchez Bella never felt special. When he reached his retirement age, I was Dean of his Law School . For me, retiring Don Ismael from the University of Navarra was like retiring Santiago Carrillo from the Communist Party of Spain, or Emilio Botín from Banco Santander. Our conversation lasted two minutes. "Look, Dean," he said with a smile and a joy that overwhelmed me: "I am here to serve. From now on, count on me for whatever you want". (Which I did, of course).

Without a giant of the stature of Ismael Sánchez Bella, the University of Navarra would not have been able to make its way. He was its champion. For this reason, his name will remain forever engraved in fire in its strongest pillars.