On September 15, 2026, the Dicastery for Culture and Education welcomed a visit from the Lusíada University – Portugal, on the occasion of its 40th anniversary. The university was represented by a delegation composed of the Chancellor, Professor João Duarte Redondo, the Rector, Professor José Alberto Rodríguez Lorenzo González, other members of the foundation and management, together with professors, students and chaplains.

During the dialogue between the parties, the members of the Portuguese university emphasized that, although not a Catholic institution by statute, it is founded on and inspired by Christian principles, in particular the social doctrine of the Church, and has been consecrated to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. For this reason, it is a university that shows itself willing to collaborate with the Church in its Christian mission and in the promotion of humanism. In addition to academic training, the university places great importance on the spiritual dimension, drawing on two chaplains distributed across its three campuses who provide spiritual assistance and teach subjects related to Christian ethics.

For his part, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, emphasized the importance of universities in today's cultural areopagus, as a space for the transmission of knowledge and the formation of protagonists of history. Faced with the challenges of artificial intelligence and new cultural sensibilities, the university stands as an irreplaceable point for building societies. Paraphrasing the document Magnifica humanitas, he recalled the need for a humanity that is not afraid of the digital, but that, on the contrary, puts the digital at the service of humankind.

The visit concluded with a symbolic exchange of institutional gifts from both parties.