National UCP's Day Celebrations

The National Day of the UCP, this year under the slogan "Science at the Service of the Common Good, celebrated in its solemn session on February 1, was presided over by the great chancellor of the UCP, the Cardinal-Patriarch of Lisbon, D. Manuel Clemente, and was attended by the prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education, Cardinal Giuseppe Versaldi, praising in his speech the role of Catholic universities in the fulfillment of the mission of the Church.

In her speech, the rector, Isabel Capeloa Gil, highlighted the "great academic and scientific quality" of this "non-state" project.

"As a reality supported by civil society, the Portuguese Catholic University has rightly demonstrated that a project of great academic and scientific non-state quality, governed by the principles of development that structure the national scientific system," she declared.

The session's Prayer of Knowledge, entitled 'The triumph of bacteria: An allegory of threats to the Common House', was delivered by Célia Manaia, professor at the School of Biotechnology.

During the solemn session the gold medal was given to Canon João Seabra, director of the Institute of Canon Law and first chaplain of UCP, in Lisbon.

The program included the inauguration of the exhibition 'os olhos escuam' (the eyes listen), curated by Paulo Pires do Vale, at the Amélia de Melo Foundation Gallery.