Advertisement

Dicastery for Culture and Education Secretary Urges Co-owned Catholic University in Kenya to Safeguard 40-Year Heritage

Archbishop Carlo Maria Polvani. Credit: Capuchin TV
Nicholas Waigwa

By Nicholas Waigwa

Nairobi, 30 September, 2025 / 9:55 pm (ACI Africa).

The Secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Culture and Education has urged Tangaza University (TU), the Nairobi-based institution that is jointly owned by 22 Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL), to safeguard the Catholic heritage that has guided it for four decades.

In his homily during the TU thanksgiving Mass on Tuesday, September 30, the Memorial of St. Jerome, Archbishop Carlo Maria Polvani offered the Priest, Monk and Doctor of the Church renowned for his extraordinary depth of learning and translations of the Bible into Latin, as a source of inspiration for TU family.  

 “What’s kind of extremely interesting for you, is this academic unity you form, is that he had to make very difficult choices when he actually translated the texts,” Said Archbishop Polvani during the event held in TU which coincided with the feast of St. Jerome.

He added, “Tangaza University is a bit in the same position. You have received a rich tradition. Forty years, the sponsors worked hard and looked at all your bills and looked at all your plans for the future. You want to be faithful to that, and you want to be open to the future.”

He emphasized the need to foster balance, upholding an institution’s heritage and remaining open to the future while embracing innovation.

Advertisement

 “As Catholics, I would say we are really the best at this effort, of being truly faithful to who we are, what we received, what has been given to us through the tradition, at the same time being able to innovate, to look for the future, to enrich the tradition for generations to come.”

The 60-year-old Italian-born Vatican official reminded TU students to play their important role of fostering positive change in the world while serving as a bridge between the past and future generations..

“You carry the responsibility of bringing Tangaza, and all you have learned here, into the world,” he said, and added, “You are the hinge between the past and the future, and we are counting on you.”

“So let us ask the Lord for exactly this: faithfulness to who we are, faithfulness to what we have received, and—especially for the 22 Congregations who have supported us,” said the Titular Archbishop of Regiae.

He implored God to grant the Catholic Church institution of higher learning “the strength to take up new challenges, the courage never to give up, and the vision to discern what we can do for the future.”

More in Africa

Nigeria

Missionary Congregation Joins Call for Prayers for 265 Children still Held after Nigerian School Abductions

Read the article

Meanwhile, in his remarks at the tail end of the September 30 Eucharistic celebration, the Vatican official hailed TU and the Church in Kenya for embodying the spirit of hope.

“Sometimes we have the impression that we live in a cynical world, where difficulties cannot be overcome. But this is why it is so important to come to places like Tangaza,” he said.

Reflecting on his encounter with the TU community and the Kenyan Church, he said, “When I see the Church here in Africa and in Kenya, when I see all your faces, I no longer doubt that difficulties can be overcome.”

“We must fight cynicism. We are in the Jubilee Year of Hope, and being here with you over these two days has been an experience of hope,” he said.

Nicholas Waigwa

Nicholas Waigwa is a Kenyan multimedia journalist and broadcast technician with a professional background in creating engaging news stories and broadcasting content across multiple media platforms. He is passionate about the media apostolate and Catholic Church communication.

Trending