Católica and Fundação Scholas Occurentes launch the VIDA 2025/26 Project with a Volunteer Meeting

On 27 September, Universidade Católica Portuguesa launched the VIDA 2025/26 Project with a meeting for registered volunteers, held in partnership with the Scholas Occurrentes Foundation.

This initiative marked the start of the new academic year and reaffirmed the joint commitment of the two institutions to promoting volunteering as a path to personal discovery, a sense of community, and a commitment to the common good.

After a joint journey that began in 2023, the collaboration between Católica and Scholas Occurrentes has been strengthened with the aim of continuing to promote educational experiences that give meaning to young people's lives and reinforce the role of volunteering as a path to personal and community growth.

Inspired by the words of Pope Francis, spoken during his visit to the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in August 2023, this training provided more than 80 participants with a journey of inner discovery and service to others.

The programme included testimonials from current Catholic volunteers, moments of joint reflection on the meaning of being a volunteer, games, art and thinking activities, and a collective creation that promoted interaction and listening among participants. The morning ended with an introspection exercise – the ‘Letter from my future self’ – where each participant reflected on their expectations, challenges and hopes for the volunteer journey that is now beginning.

With VIDA, the Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon reaffirms its commitment to educating students who, in addition to academic excellence, cultivate solidarity, empathy and hope – becoming, as Pope Francis wished, “masters of humanity, masters of compassion, masters of new opportunities for the planet and its inhabitants, masters of hope.” Address of Pope Francis at the Meeting with University Students at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, August 2023).