“With this simple act, I take the helm of the university. I receive it trusting that God will give me wisdom to govern, strength to overcome difficulties and diligence to do a good job.”
Francisco Javier Alonso Arroyo, Sch. P., who succeeds Fr José Manuel Asún Jordán, Sch. P., as Rector of Christopher Columbus University.
The ceremony took place in the Council Hall of the Torrente Campus in Veracruz, Mexico, in the presence of Bishop Carlos Briseño Arch, Bishop of the Diocese of Veracruz, and members of the Board of Directors of the Civil Society of the Christopher Columbus Study Centre, members of the Community of the Piarist Fathers in Veracruz and the Board of Directors, directors and academic and administrative staff of the University and Columbus University, as well as the President of the University’s Student Council.
Sergio Fernando Hernández Avilés, Sch. P., Provincial of the Pious Schools of Mexico and General Titular of the Colegio Colón, read the appointment that was made last December by the Superior General of the Piarist Fathers, Fr Pedro Aguado Cuesta, Sch. Fr.
Fr José Manuel Asún Jordán wished Fr Alonso all the best for his new task and for the entire pedagogical community in this new phase. After reading some notes from his curriculum vitae, the act of investiture and conferral of authority on the new rector took place, who received the rector’s insignia and medal, symbols of the authority conferred on him, from the hands of the outgoing rector.
Francisco Javier Alonso Arroyo remembered the beloved Piarist Fathers José F. Unanua Pagola and Francesc Fuster Angel, former vice-rectors and rectors of the UCC, with whom he lived at different times of his life: “As a Piarist institution, the University is a work of God and of the happy daring and tenacious patience of so many Piarists, religious and lay people who believe in this project,” he added:
“… I take the baton from all of them and with them from our great captain: Joseph Calasanz, who has always inspired me in the places where I have been sent. I therefore hope that this study centre will continue to deepen its Piarist identity”.
For his part, he mentioned that he hopes that Christopher Columbus University, with St Joseph Calasanz at the helm:
“continue to be a school where students are prepared to be excellent professionals, good human beings and active citizens who contribute to the reform of society.
It should be a school where quality work is done, a place where learning takes place and both students and teachers grow in wisdom.
A place where the Gospel is proclaimed through the witness of teachers’ commitment, where students discover that Jesus of Nazareth is our point of reference for serving others.
A place where we feel at home, an ‘alma mater’ that helps us to find the meaning of our lives.
A place where culture is characterised by a Christian vision of man and society. “
The UCC community hopes for the success of Fr Alonso’s administration and that the University will continue to deepen its Piarist identity under the motto that gives it life and strength: “Educate to Serve”, coined by founding rector Fr Antonio Torrente Viver.
Edmundo Gómez Martínez
