For decades the Vatican has been concerned about the de-Christianisation of Europe, echoing Saint John Paul II’s famous phrase “Europe, come back to meet us. Be yourself.”
He did so from Santiago de Compostela, a place which thousands of Europeans have made pilgrimages for centuries and which somehow turned into an important symbol of unity in Christian Europe.
The Chair of European Studies Way of St James is an interdisciplinary study plan that aims to recover that Christian and human basis which helps to face current problems.
“It is a path that right now has become a call to all humanity that must continue to seek and renew the hope that, to quote Dante again, is reborn in Santiago de Compostela,” said Archbishop Francisco Prieto, archbishop of the diocese of Santiago de Compostela.
The Camino is an avenue the pope hopes will lead Europeans to rediscover their historical heritage and depth of its roots.
The director of the Chair of Europe, Marta Pedraja said people often think of Europe as progressive but that it has many vulnerabilities that need to be addressed.
“I believe that all of these social, economic, environmental and technological issues bring us face to face with some challenges that we need to respond to from the Christian roots that have always strengthened the Europe of solidarity,” she said.
This chair presented in Rome is promoted by the Archbishop of Santiago and the Paul VI Foundation.