Mexico City, Mexico, April 21, 2025 -The figure of Pope Francis represents one of the most significant and transformative moments in the recent history of the Catholic Church. The first Latin American pontiff and a Jesuit, Jorge Mario Bergoglio not only defied the expectations of the traditional Vatican, but also embodied a deeply human, simple and committed spiritual leadership to the challenges of the 21st century.
From his election in 2013 until his recent passing, his pontificate has left an indelible mark on millions of people inside and outside the religious sphere. His message of hope, mercy and concrete action touched on key issues such as migration, integral ecology, social justice and the need for a Church closer to the people.
In this context, Universidad Panamericana finds in the legacy of Pope Francis a source of reflection, action and institutional meaning.
Education and youth
Pope Francis has stated on numerous occasions that. "education is an act of hope".. From his years as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, he understood that young people are key actors in social transformation, and that the university cannot limit itself to training professionals, but rather people capable of understanding and responding to the needs of the world.
This approach led to the creation of the Scholas Occurrentes movement. Scholas Occurrenteswhich emerged in 2001 in the midst of the Argentine crisis, when Pope Francis called on educators to listen to and accompany adolescents. This seed grew into a global network that promotes education with meaning, dialogue and action.
The Universidad Panamericanaas one of the first five institutions to join Scholas Cátedras, has shown a firm commitment to this transformative vision of education.
Pope Francis' key reforms
One of the most notorious aspects of Francis' pontificate was his determined push for institutional reform within the Church. institutional reform within the Church.. From the beginning of his administration, the restructuring of the Roman Curia and the creation of instances of greater co-responsibility, such as consultative and deliberative synods.
Synodality - a way of walking together, listening to all actors and making collective decisions - became one of its flagships. This model, which emphasizes listening and participation, not only transformed the way of governing in the Church, but also offers university institutions a model of participative leadership that contrasts with vertical and bureaucratic structures.
Pope Francis has brought about a profound transformation in the way we understand the Church and its role in the world. His theological and pastoral legacy moved away from traditional models, proposing a renewal centered on mercy, dialogue and commitment to the peripheries.
As explained by Dr. Héctor Zagalacademic at the Universidad Panamericana, explains: "Pope Francis broke with the theological triumphalism that linked the external success of the Church with the Kingdom of God. This approach, typical of the Baroque and the Counter-Reformation, was replaced by a more humble vision closer to human reality.
One of the central concepts of his pontificate was the "Church of the peripheries". "Church of the peripheries".a Church that does not look at itself, but goes out to meet the forgotten: the poor, those far from the faith and those who do not fit into institutional molds.
"It is about preaching on the margins of dominant thought, in contexts hostile or indifferent to Christianity," he said.he said.
Christian Humanism in action
Pope Francis has been one of the greatest exponents of contemporary Christian contemporary Christian humanisma vision that places the human person at the center of all social, spiritual and educational concerns. For him, evangelizing is more than preaching. to accompany, to look people in the eye, to listen and to respond to the real needs of others, especially those on the peripheries of dignity and hope.
This approach fits deeply with the ideology of Universidad Panamericana ideology of the Universidad Panamericanawhich promotes the formation of persons of integrity, committed to the common good, guided by truth and justice. Panamericana understands that knowledge is not an end in itself, but a means to better serve society and transform reality with an ethical and transcendent sense.
In this line, Pope Francis distinguished himself by turning his messages into concrete commitments. concrete commitmentsespecially on issues such as poverty, exclusion poverty, exclusion and migration.. His position was clear: it was not enough to denounce injustice, it was necessary to act. This is what Dr. Luis Pesquera Olalde Dr. Luis Pesquera Olaldeprofessor of the Institute of Humanities and Theology of the Universidad Panamericana:
"The Pope was the voice of migrants throughout his pontificate. He did not stop at the discursive: he committed every Christian and every person of good will to engage with real migrants, one by one. His proposal was deeply personal.
Pope Francis did not limit himself to denouncing injustice, but invited every believer to act with concrete compassion. invited each believer to act with concrete compassion, based on his or her own reality and possibilities.from his or her own reality and possibilities. In this sense, he redefined the role of the Church, and by extension, of all those who participate in its mission in areas such as education, politics or the economy.
"He has engaged every minister of the Church, every Christian, in caring for every weak person, every discarded person. From Francis we can learn that the only way to reach everyone is to care for the person next to you: one by one".he added.
The Church, Francis recalled, is a living and complex realitydivine and human at the same time. She is called to actively influence the great challenges of the contemporary world - peace, integral ecology, social inclusion and economic justice - from an authentic Christian commitment. Her Christian humanism was neither theoretical nor neutral, but profoundly active, daring and witnessing..
Education with a human face
Universidad Panamericana finds in this legacy an inspiration and a calling: to form leaders capable of looking at others as equals, of committing themselves to the most vulnerable and of making their professional vocation a real service to the human person.
