Prioritize Faith Over Technology: Hungarian Ambassador to Graduands at Kenya-based Jointly Owned Catholic University

The Hungarian diplomat urged the hundreds of graduands from TU’s Schools of Theology, Education, and Arts and Sciences to serve as a bridge between knowledge and kindness, showing that embracing the digital age does not mean abandoning “the values that make us human.”

“The digital age gives you incredible tools, but remember, tools depend on the hands that use them. So, use your knowledge to connect, not to divide. Use your creativity to lift others up,” Ambassador Nyirati said.

She added, “Saint Elizabeth taught us that true love of God is shown through love of our neighbor. Dear graduates, I think that is your calling, to bring that love through your compassion, your courage, your creativity, into every life you touch.” 

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“The world needs your voice, your vision, your integrity,” the Hungarian-born diplomat, who is also his country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN-Habitat said. 

She went on to praise the young people in the East African nation, saying, “Here in Kenya, I have met so many young people who inspire me with their energy, their creativity, and their sense of purpose.”

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The young people in both Kenya and Hungary share common hopes, “to live with purpose, to build a future that is fair, sustainable, and peaceful, and to find meaning in a world that moves faster every day,” the Hungarian ambassador in Kenya since September 2025 said at the second TU graduation realized under the theme “Championing transformation: Faith-driven education in a digital age.”

In her November 14 remarks, Ambassador Nyirati also reflected the theme of the second TU graduation, noting that it “is something that Hungary understands deeply.”

Ambassador Katalin Nyirati. Credit: Capuchin TV

“We are a country where faith and education have worked hand in hand for more than 1,000 years,” she said, recalling the legacy of St. Stephen, who she said “built” the landlocked nation in Central Europe “on Christian values, wisdom, humility, and service.”

The diplomat expressed gratitude that Hungary supported the construction of TU’s new St. Elizabeth of Hungary Hall, noting that the building in the Catholic institution “stands for something far greater than bricks and walls… the meeting of minds and hearts, the encounter between faith and reason, tradition and innovation, and also Africa and Europe.”

Also speaking during the second graduation of the Kenya-based institution of higher learning that is jointly owned by some 22 Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL), TU Chancellor, Fr. Edward Etengu reminded graduands that facing today’s global challenges requires both “intellectual capability and spiritual maturity.”

Fr. Edward Etengu. Credit: Capuchin TV

Fr. Etengu said, “Climate change demands solutions that balance human needs with environmental stewardship. Economic inequality requires business models that prioritize both profits and people. Political divisions call for leaders who can bridge differences through dialogue and understanding,”

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“These are not merely intellectual problems. They are deeply human challenges requiring both intellectual capability and spiritual maturity,” said the member of the Order of St. Benedict (Benedictines/OSB). 

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He continued, “The world needs what you have received here. It needs professionals who see their work as ministry, entrepreneurs who measure success by lives improved, and citizens who understand that true leadership is fundamentally about service to the common good.”

“As you leave these halls, remember that your education here was never about accumulating facts or mastering skills. It was about becoming fully human, integrating mind and heart, spirit in the service of others,” the TU Chancellor said during the November 14 graduation ceremony.

Fr. Edward Etengu. Credit: Capuchin TV

Established in 1986 under the name, Theological Centre of Religious, TU had the original aim to form members of ICLSAL for ministry in the Church and society in Africa. Servant of God Maurice Michael Cardinal Otunga, then Archbishop of Nairobi, blessed and formally inaugurated TU on 30 October 1987.

Since 1992, when the Nairobi-based Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) was granted the Charter in Kenya, the administratively autonomous TU became one of CUEA’s Constituent Colleges, particularly for academic-related matters.

TU was granted a charter to confer degrees and certificates by Kenya’s President, William Samoei Ruto, in May 2024 after many years of consistency in offering quality education.

Credit: Capuchin TV

The May 2 Charter award was the culmination of the process that started in 2013 following the change in the regulations around the governance of universities and constituent colleges as stipulated in Kenya’s University Act, 2012.

With faculty and students of well over 40 nationalities and more than 100 ICLSAL, TU is a culturally diverse institution of higher learning that has “Teaching Minds, Touching Hearts, Transforming Lives” as its educational philosophy.