The Pontifical University of the Holy Cross started in 1984 with the name of Roman Academic Centre of the Holy Cross with 41 students. In 1998, after having developed 4 faculties and an Institute of Advanced Religious Studies with 1,100 students, Pope John Paul II raised the Centre to a Pontifical University. Classrooms are in di Sant' Apollinari and the Library is located a block away in Via dei Farnesi, which has a collection of more than 209,000 volumes, 11,500 digital documents and 800 periodicals.
The Holy Cross confronts the challenges of today's world by viewing areas of concern as opportunities, forming men and women — seminarians, priests, religious, and lay persons with a doctrinally sound faith to enable entry into dialogue with modernity. Thousands of men and women from 95 countries have received formation since 1984. Today, over 70 graduates of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross have been made Bishops, one of them in Sydney.
"The Priesthood is absolutely vital. There is no substitute for it. The formation of future priests...is considered by the Church one of the most demanding and important tasks for the future of the evangelization of humanity."
Pope John Paul II,
Pastores dabo vobis, 40, 2.
Pope Benedict XVI stated that "without well-prepared priests, the New Evangelisation will be just a slogan."
Pope Francis commented that "priestly formation is decisive for the mission of the church: the renewal of the faith is possible only if we have well-formed priests.""
"...thanks to the support of many benefactors and the dedication of our faculty and administrative staff, we have witnessed progressive academic maturity, having conferred 1,679 doctoral degrees and 4,068 Licentiate degrees over the past 39 years."
"In the academic year recently concluded, 55 doctoral theses were defended, and 113 students earned their Licentiate degrees."
The Pontifical University of the Holy Cross has four faculties:
Among the 21 new Cardinals announced by Pope Francis at the end of the Angelus prayer on Sunday, October 6, 2024, is alumnus George Koovakad, currently an official in the Secretariat of State and responsible for Papal Travels.
Born in Chethipuzha (India) on August 11, 1973, he was ordained a priest in 2004 and incardinated in Changanacherry. He entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See and worked in the nunciatures in Algeria, Korea, Iran, and Costa Rica.
At the School of Canon Law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, he obtained his Doctorate in June 2006, with a thesis on The Obligation of Poverty for Secular Clerics in the Codes of Canon Law. He had previously earned a Baccalaureate (2002) and a Licentiate (2004).
Nicholas Rasanantham is a priest from the Diocese of Mannar in Sri Lanka. He comes from a Catholic family and is the fourth of five siblings. His father is a farmer, and his mother is a housewife. He had a very difficult childhood due to the violent civil war that lasted 30 years in his country. The family had to constantly move to survive the war and even faced difficulties in finding food.
His diocese also suffered from the damages of the civil war, with many churches being either completely destroyed or partially damaged. Now, after the war ended in 2009, the diocese is slowly rebuilding and renovating the churches while also investing in the formation of the clergy.
From a very young age, he desired to become a priest, and his mother took him to the parish priest, who made all the arrangements for him to enter the Diocesan Minor Seminary in 2001. He was ordained a priest in 2015. He served as secretary to his bishop until he was sent to study Canon Law at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce, as the diocese requires a well-trained canonist. For him, studying in Rome with students from different parts of the world, with diverse cultures, languages, and family backgrounds, has been an enriching experience.
Kan Boussié Fortuné Ako Yao is a priest from the Diocese of Morondava in Ivory Coast. He began his priestly formation in his home country at the Redemptoris Mater International Seminary in Yopougon. After two years, he was sent on a mission to Madagascar, where he continued his training at the Redemptoris Mater seminary in that country. He was ordained a priest on April 30, 2023, in Morondava, the seat of his diocese. Following his ordination, his bishop sent him to pursue a bachelor's degree in Church History at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in Rome.
According to Yao, his vocation was awakened even before his baptism because, despite being born into a non-Christian family, he already felt the desire to become a priest. This desire ignited within him when he began studying as a child in a Catholic school. His desire to become a Christian and a priest continued to grow, and Yao sought to participate in some vocational meetings in his home parish and later in the Neocatechumenal Way gatherings, where he discovered his vocation and mission within the Church.
For him, priesthood has always represented a dream of serving Jesus Christ and His Church. Now, with the opportunity to study in Rome and while exercising his priestly ministry, he has seen this dream become a reality every day, which has brought him great joy, personal fulfillment, and gratitude to God. As he puts it, God brought him to the great Mother Church.
Guillermo Andrés Escobar Trujillo is a priest from the Diocese of Civitavecchia- Tarquinia in Italy. From childhood, he felt drawn to the priesthood, often telling the priest who accompanied him, "I want to be a priest to celebrate Mass." He was always amazed by the liturgy and says that, for him, celebrating Mass is a way to remember and give thanks for the origins of his priestly vocation.
He is of Colombian origin, born into a Catholic family that always encouraged his vocation. After finishing school in Colombia, he came to know the Priestly Fraternity of the Workers of the Kingdom of Christ, an apostolic society to which he now belongs. After expressing his desire to become a priest, he was sent to study philosophy and theology in Toledo, Spain, where he was ordained a priest in 2009.
During his 14 years of priestly life, he has served in various dioceses in Spain, most recently in the Italian Diocese of Civitavecchia-Tarquinia. He hopes that in this new phase of his priestly ministry, dedicated to studies, he will continue to do God's will and grow in his vocation.
Isac Jacinto Velica is a priest from the Diocese of Nampula in Mozambique. He was born in Nametil, in the district of Mogovolas, a predominantly rural and very poor region. He is the youngest of four siblings. Coming from a Catholic family, he studied at a Christian school, where his desire to become a priest was awakened. He received vocational guidance at the school he attended, and in 2012, he asked to enter the propaedeutic seminary of his diocese.
After two years of propaedeutic experience, he entered the major seminary of the Diocese of Nampula, where he studied philosophy. His diocese does not yet have a theology program, so he completed his theological studies at the seminary of the Diocese of Maputo. He finished his priestly formation in 2022, the year he was ordained. As a priest, he served as the vice-director of an orphanage in his diocese, an assistant to the diocesan Caritas, and as a parochial vicar.
He will begin his studies at the Pontificia Università della Santa Croce this year, and he hopes to make the most of this time of study so that he can later serve his diocese as a canonist and formator.
Oghenefogor Emmanuel Agbakah is a priest from the Diocese of Warri in Nigeria. Having discovered his vocation to the priesthood very early on, he entered the diocesan seminary at the age of 18, where he studied philosophy. In 2016, still a seminarian, his bishop sent him to Rome to study theology at the Pontifical Urbaniana University. After completing his formation, he was ordained a priest at the seat of his diocese in 2021.
After his ordination, he served in various parishes and was the director of a Catholic school in the diocese. Despite the many pastoral responsibilities, he maintained a strong aspiration for studies. Indeed, for him, continuous education is essential for both spiritual and pastoral growth, as it enhances the ability to serve the Church and the community. Therefore, in 2022, he completed a postgraduate degree in Education at the College of Education in Warri.
In order to fulfill his desire to maintain a life of study, his bishop sent him to Rome so that, in this new academic year, he can specialize in Canon Law. For the diocese, which has been continuously expanding since its foundation in 1964, it is also important to have well-trained priests who can assist in the formation of the clergy and the entire community.
