The Salesian Pontifical University (; ) is a

pontifical university A pontifical university or athenaeum is an ecclesiastical university established or approved directly by the Holy See, composed of three main ecclesiastical faculties (Theology, Philosophy and canon law (Catholic Church), Canon Law) and at least o ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

run by the

Salesians of Don Bosco The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

. It has three campuses, one in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, one in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, and one in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. The Salesian Pontifical University is an ordinary member of the

International Federation of Catholic Universities The International Federation of Catholic Universities () is an organisation of 226 Catholic universities throughout the world. The secretariat is at the Institut Catholique de Paris. History The federation has its origins in collaboration in 192 ...

, the European Federation of Catholic Universities, the

European University Association The European University Association (EUA) represents more than 800 institutions of higher education in 48 countries, providing them with a forum for cooperation and the exchange of information on higher education and research policies. Members of ...

and the

International Association of Universities The International Association of Universities (IAU) is a membership-led non-governmental organization working in the field of global higher education. It has more than 600 members in over 130 countries, including institutions, organizations, aff ...

History

The university began with the founding of the Foglizzo Canavese theological studentate in 1904, which in 1923 moved to Turin. The university was canonically erected by the

Congregation for Catholic Education The Congregation for Catholic Education (Institutes of Study) () was the pontifical congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for: universities, faculties, institutes and higher schools of study, either ecclesial or non-ecclesiastical depende ...

with the decree of 3 May 1940 (Prot. N. 265/40) with the official title ''Pontificio Ateneo Salesiano'' (Latin for 'Salesian Pontificial Athenaeum'). During the Second World War students and teachers were transferred to the Salesian house in

Bagnolo Piemonte Bagnolo Piemonte (Occitan ''Banhuel'', Piedmontese and French ''Bagneul'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about southwest of Turin and about northwest of Cuneo. The ski resort and ...

."Storia", Università Pontificia Salesiana
/ref> In 1958 the Salesian Pontifical Athenaeum moved to Rome. On 24 May 1973,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

approved its new title ''Pontificia Studiorum Universitas Salesiana'' (Salesian Pontifical University) with the ''

motu proprio In law, (Latin for 'on his own impulse') describes an official act taken without a formal request from another party. Some jurisdictions use the term for the same concept. In Catholic canon law, it refers to a document issued by the pope on h ...

'' ''Magisterium vitae''. On 8 December 1986, a Department of Youth Pastoral and Catechetics was constituted by an agreement between the Faculties of Theology and Sciences of Education. In 2012 the Faculty of the Sciences of Social Communication began to offer Catholic priests (who, by virtue of their priestly studies, possess a Bachelor's degree in either Philosophy or Theology) a three-year Master's Degree in Pastoral Communication that includes a one-year Bachelor's in Communication. On 10 October 2006, Cardinal

Tarcisio Bertone Tarcisio Pietro Evasio Bertone (born 2 December 1934) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church and a Vatican City, Vatican diplomat. A Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal since 2003, he served as Archbishop of Vercelli from 1991 to 1995, as S ...

, in his first year as

Cardinal Secretary of State The Secretary of State of His Holiness (; ), also known as the Cardinal Secretary of State or the Vatican Secretary of State, presides over the Secretariat of State of the Holy See, the oldest and most important dicastery of the Roman Curia. Th ...

, gave a homily there celebrating the opening of the new academic year.

Faculties

* Theology * Educational Sciences "Auxilium" * Philosophy * Christian and Classical Literature * Sciences of Social Communication

Publications

The university's publications are edited by the Italian publishing house ''Libreria Ateneo Salesiano'' (LAS), founded in 1974. From 2022 to 2023, Marco Cardinali_it was its editor-in-chief. Since 1939, the university has published ''Salesianum'' (), the university's official journal and an interdisciplinary quarterly of philosophy and theology.

Notable members

Faculty

Alfons Maria Stickler Alfons Maria Stickler (23 August 1910 – 12 December 2007) was an Austrian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archivist and Librarian of the Holy Roman Church from 1985 to 1988. Stickler was elevated to the cardinalate in 198 ...

Ludwig Schwarz Ludwig Schwarz, S.D.B. (born 4 June 1940) was the Catholic bishop of the Diocese of Linz, Austria from 2005 - 2015. Life Ludwig Schwarz was the first of nine children and grew up in Most pri Bratislave. After the expulsion of his family fr ...

Antonio María Javierre Ortas Antonio María Javierre Ortas S.D.B. (21 February 1921 – 1 February 2007) was a cardinal of the Catholic Church, and former prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments in the Vatican. Javierre Ortas w ...

Alumni

Angelo Amato Angelo Amato, Salesians of Don Bosco, S.D.B. (8 June 1938 – 31 December 2024) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 20 ...

Rosalio José Castillo Lara Rosalio José Castillo Lara (4 September 1922 – 16 October 2007) was a Venezuelan prelate of the Catholic Church. He worked in the Roman Curia for almost all of his career, first with responsibility for rewriting the code of canon law and the ...

Joseph Zen Joseph Zen Ze-kiun, SDB (, born 13 January 1932) is a Chinese Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Hong Kong from 2002 to 2009. He was made a cardinal by Pope Benedict XVI in 2006 and has been outspoken on issues regarding human rig ...

Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, SDB, commonly known as Carlos Belo or Ximenes Belo (born 3 February 1948) is an East Timorese prelate of the Catholic Church. He became a bishop in 1988 and served as the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of ...

References

External links

Official site
{{authority control Salesian Pontifical University 1940 establishments in Italy Education in Rome Universities and colleges established in 1940

Salesian The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in 1859 by the Italian priest John Bosco to help poor and migrant youth during the ...

Properties of the Holy See Catholic Church in Italy Seminaries and theological colleges in Italy Salesian colleges and universities