As President of Brescia University, I am delighted to welcome you to our website. 我希望通过这几页, you can get a glimpse of the spirit and mission of this great institution that I fell in love with as a faculty member beginning my career here. 在布雷西亚大学, education is about more than receiving a diploma; it is about making a difference. It is the foundation of who we are as a Catholic, liberal arts education institution. When people ask me what makes a University “Catholic,” I tell them that we take the words of Jesus very seriously, 特别是他对爱的命令.
In the Gospel of John 15:12, Jesus says: “Love one another as I have loved you.” From the Gospel of Matthew we know that this command is second only to the greatest of commandments, 那就是全心全意地爱神, 灵魂, 心灵(Mt). 22:37). The implication for Catholic higher education is obvious: we must make sure that this fundamental Christian value is nurtured and strengthened in the lives of our 学生. We recognize that every student is uniquely created in the image of God. We believe that individualized attention will assist our 学生 to develop their intellectual capacity and to encourage growth in their character and moral virtue. 我们以了解我们的学生而自豪, 而不是在花名册上, but as a child of God who possesses the talent and abilities to build a successful career, to nourish strong families and make a difference in the lives of others, 教会的生活, 以及他们社区的生活.
Brescia University is focused on producing servant leaders whose lives exemplify leadership capabilities balanced with the responsibility of service. It is what we call the Brescia Difference: Respect for the Sacred; Devotion to Learning; Commitment to Growth in Virtue; and Promotion of Servant Leadership. The Latin word for love is Caritas and the effort to find meaning in this call to love is often called “Caritas Theology.”
In 2015, I attended a conference at the Vatican on the theme of Caritas. Afterwards, I was invited to find ways to include Caritas Theology into our Social Work curriculum. While Caritas Theology has a long history in Europe, there has not been a significant presence in U.S. 天主教高等教育. Brescia was happy to embrace this effort but because the call to love is universal we decided not to stop with our social work program but to look for ways to integrate the notion of Caritas into the broader life of our University.
Caritas theology has become a central part of Brescia’s mission and we are guided by three overarching outcomes: 身份. Our 学生 will discover and understand their Christian identity in their vocation to love. 知识. Our 学生 will gain theological knowledge about the meaning of the vocation to love. 行动. Our 学生 will act on this vocation to love with service. These outcomes will frame all of our efforts that shape our Catholic identity, including the regular celebration of the sacraments, 我们必修的神学和哲学课程, 还有无数的校园事工活动.
In all these ways, we are attempting to be faithful to the command to love God and neighbor. We have just begun integrating Caritas theology into the life of the university. I invite you to take some time and explore all that Brescia University has to offer you. No matter what stage of life you find yourself in, we are confident that Brescia University can help you reach your full potential, provide you with an atmosphere that makes you feel welcome and provide you with all the resources you need to find happiness and success in your life. 我们坚信，通过教育, 生活被改变了，通过这些生活, 世界变得更美好.
真诚地,
拉里·霍斯泰特神父，会长