MACAU (UCAN): Pope Francis sent his special blessings and appreciations to the University of St. Joseph in Macau on its 25th anniversary on December 2, Jornal O-Clarim, the Portuguese-language Catholic weekly of Macau reported.
Bishop Stephen Lee Bun-sang delivered the papal decree to Deacon Stephen Morgan, the rector of the university during the anniversary ceremony.
Bishop Lee expressed his hopes that the institution would maintain its international reputation for academic excellence in the short and long term.
“I think the most important thing is for the university to be able to maintain its mission as a platform open to all nationalities, all races and all faiths so that students can get to know China and Chinese culture,” said the bishop, who has been chancellor of the university since 2017.
He hoped that the university would become “a platform where Chinese and Western culture can meet, can understand each other and learn from each other.”
The 40-minute ceremony featured the installation of a statue of Chinese philosopher, Confucius, as well as murals of other local personalities who contributed to the growth of University of St. Joseph over the past 25 years.
Our goals remain the same—to continue to grow steadily in order to ensure a high-quality international experience for our students in a Catholic atmosphere
Deacon Morgan
Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Elsie Ao Ieong, who represented Macau’s chief executive, Ho Iat Seng, hailed the university as the pride of Macau.
“In the past 25 years, the University of St. Joseph has managed to assert itself as a university for Macau and at the service of Macau,” she said.
She also thanked the university for training people with quality education.
Founded in 1996, the university operates under the Diocese of Macau and is affiliated to the Catholic University of Portugal. It is one of four universities in Macau but until September it was barred from accepting students from mainland China.
Thanks to years of academic excellence and collaboration with leading universities in the mainland, it received permission from the central government to enroll students from the mainland for the first time in its 25-year history.
It can recruit students from the mainland for postgraduate programmes in architecture, business administration, information systems and science starting from the current academic year.
Deacon Morgan insisted that the university’s mission has remained the same since its foundation.
“Our goals remain the same—to continue to grow steadily in order to ensure a high-quality international experience for our students in a Catholic atmosphere,” he said.
“With regard to students on the continent, we hope to be able to demonstrate as much as possible to the Chinese authorities that the University of St. Joseph is guided by witness and service, and is committed to something that motivates us all: peace and harmony, wisdom and education.”
