7Approach“Throughout his 12 years as Pope, Francis led by example and he consistently called for peace and reconciliation across the globe. He traveled tirelessly, visiting and offering comfort and encour-agement to people living in the most difficult and painful condi-tions. We will never forget that image of him — he was quite lit-erally a beacon of hope. It is now our responsibility to carry on his spirit by raising the next generation to become “Witnesses of Hope.” 2025 has been designated a Jubilee Year centered on the theme of Hope. This theme serves as Pope Francis’ final appeal, especially to today’s youth, to bring light into the world — now filled with uncertainty and violence — by fostering peace, recon-ciliation, and a brighter future. We are also reminded of the re-cent Assembly of the International Association of Jesuit Univer-sities (IAJU) held in Bogotá, where Rev. Arturo Sosa, S. J., Supe-rior General of the Society of Jesus, emphasized in his keynote address that Jesuit universities must become witnesses of hope as well as being “creative and dialogical” presences. Sophia Univer-sity must now take up that charge and continue nurturing young people to embody these ideals.In 2020, the year after Pope Francis’ visit, Sophia established the “Pope Francis Visit Memorial Fund” to support education, re-search, and student initiatives aimed at addressing poverty, pro-tecting marginalized communities, promoting diversity, and working to solve global environmental issues. The “Commemo-rative Award for the Visit of Pope Francis” has been held annu-ally since 2021, supporting initiatives that address the many social challenges highlighted in the late Pope’s message. In 2022, So-phia established the “Sophia Island Sustainability Institute” with the aim of conducting research and related activities to support the sustainability of island regions. The Institute fosters partner-ships with domestic and overseas island communities as well as with partner universities abroad. This is a concrete initiative that embodies the spirit of Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si” encyclical.“As part of a wider initiative across the Sophia School Corpora-tion and the university, we aim to further strengthen the Jesuit educational tradition by focusing on methodological approaches. To do this, we need our faculty and staff to deepen their under-standing of Pope Francis’ message and reflect on how to integrate it meaningfully into our educational and research activities. En-gaging directly with students under this vision is central to our mission as an institution of higher education.”Pope Francis’ passing was mourned by Catholics and people the world over regardless of religion or ethnicity. This speaks to the deep resonance of the message Pope Francis championed during his life: peace, justice, coexistence, and the environment. Augus-tine, reflecting on this, said:“The fact that people around the world mourned his passing speaks to the profound humanity that he embodied. His inclusive spirituality and openness pulled at peoples’ heartstrings directly. He conveyed a worldview and values through word and action that resonated with people the world over. He spoke of God as “Mercy,” lived simply, and always respected everyone in his pres-ence, especially the vulnerable. It was this way of life, grounded in a deep commitment to peace and justice, that moved so many people. One moment that particularly stands out to me is when he knelt to kiss the feet of the South Sudanese leaders during an audience, saying ‘I am asking you as a brother to stay in peace.’ As in the say-ing, ‘a shepherd must live with the smell of his sheep,’ he showed us all in a natural, biblical way what it means to be small –– to be a servant. In today’s world where conflict and division persist, our role is “to build not walls, but bridges.” I believe that carrying on Pope Francis’ message is synonymous with continuously embrac-ing this spirit in our own educational mission.”Honoring Pope Francis’ Meaningful Visit and Responsibly Carrying Forward His Message
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