Promoting university initiatives
Saint Josemaría saw the university as an institution with a long tradition, deeply rooted in Christian values, with remarkable evangelizing potential. He believed that the university should generate knowledge and innovation, blend tradition with modernity, contribute to solving social problems, foster human development, and purify faith with reason, while also opening reason to transcendence. Great ideas that have shaped the world have often emerged from universities, in the silence of their libraries ad the fervor of their academic discussions. "As in the Gospel parable, the yeast must work without rest, shaping a constantly renewing dough," said Saint Josemaría (Speech, October 21, 1960).
However, Escrivá was not a conventional academic. Yes, he earned a doctorate in civil law and later in theology in Rome, showing his spiritual children the importance of academic formation through his personal example. He was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Zaragoza. But although he once considered competing for university positions, he rejected the idea, as well as any other opportunity that was not aligned with the mission the Lord entrusted to him on October 2, 1928: his foundational commitment was unconditional and uncompromising.
Nevertheless, his love for the university led him to encourage numerous young doctors to pursue university positions. One of them was my own esteemed teacher, Álvaro d'Ors, who, shortly after meeting Saint Josemaría, expressed his uncertainty about applying for academic posts. It was Escrivá who insisted he do so. This advice proved pivotal for d'Ors to apply, pass the exams, and take up the position of Chair in Roman Law at the University of Granada in 1943.
As an exceptional and courageous entrepreneur, Saint Josemaría became an indefatigable promoter of numerous university institutions. In Madrid, he helped establish the DYA and Ferraz Academies before the Civil War, and after the war, he contributed to founding the Jenner Residence, Moncloa College, the Zurbarán Residence, and others. When he moved to Rome in 1946, he founded and promoted the Roman College of the Holy Cross for men, and the Rome College of Holy Mary for women. He also laid the groundwork for his successor, Álvaro del Portillo, to establish what is now the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross.
In 1961, Saint Josemaría promoted the foundation of Strathmore College in Nairobi, which became the first multiracial and multireligious university in Kenya. He also inspired the creation of the University of Piura in Peru, where he served as Chancellor from its inception in 1969 until his death. However, the crown jewel is the University of Navarre, which he founded in 1952 and where he became the first Chancellor in 1960.
This university held a very special place in his life, to the point that he once commented that, after his death, he wished for his heart to rest near the shrine of the Virgin Mother of Fair Love, which overlooks the campus and which he donated to the institution in 1966. Furthermore, Saint Josemaría chose to deliver his most emblematic homily, “Passionately loving the world,” in 1967, on the esplanade of the library at the university’s central campus in Pamplona, in full connection with the silence of science, the clamor of the world, and the whisper of nature.
The pillars of the university
Saint Josemaría’s vision of the university, especially expressed in his speeches as Chancellor of the University of Navarre, is based on four essential pillars.
First, his unwavering commitment to the pursuit of truth stands out. Saint Josemaría was never afraid of the truth, for as Jesus Christ said, "The truth will set you free" (John 8:32). For this reason, he promoted an environment conducive to critical thinking and research, one that allowed for a deeper understanding of the world and the social context around us.
The second pillar is his love of freedom. Saint Josemaría affirmed that without freedom, love cannot exist. Freedom and love are interdependent, like the chicken and the egg; a freedom that does not lead to love is not true freedom. Likewise, love that is not free is merely a caricature of love. This love for freedom entails a risk that every society must embrace and demands a deep respect for human dignity and the autonomy of each individual. Thus, for Saint Josemaría, the university was the place where true freedom is learned.
The third pillar is integral training , which encompasses not only the academic, but also the moral and spiritual. This integral training invites academic multidisciplinarity and demands a methodology of multidimensional work , which uses both the light of faith and logical reasoning to enrich human knowledge . Therefore, it is not surprising that, over time, the University of Navarra has built and developed a university museum of excellent artistic quality in order to foster the contemplative capacity of students, thus complementing the argumentative training they receive in the classroom.
Finally, and perhaps most significantly, Saint Josemaría saw the university as a place of encounter between professors and students, but above all, as a space for encountering God. The work tables in the library or laboratory became, in this sense, true altars where finite knowledge, belonging to God's children, and a well-done job for the service of society were offered to the Omniscient God. Thus, for Saint Josemaría, university work could and should be divinized and also become opus Dei. This was the true foundation of his academic heart.
Rafael Domingo Oslé is a professor of Roman Law and holder of the Álvaro d’Ors Chair at the University of Navarre.
