Category: News

Francesco Avesio SDB and Diego Borbolla SDB

September 20 2019 - STS - Jerusalem On September 20, 2019, the yearly series of the archaeological excursions began with a study trip to Jaffa, Caesarea Maritima and the Mount Carmel. The guide of our visit was the STS Professor of Christian Archaeology, Geography and History, Fr. Piotr Zelazko.

The student body departed from Ratisbonne Monastery to the beautiful sight of Jaffa. Here we could visit the area of the Old City. Coming down from the Abrasha Park, the highest point of the place, we visited the Ramses II’s Gate and the excavated ruins of a brick wall of an Egyptian fortress, and walking up again to Kedumim Square, we reached St. Peter’s church and monastery, built in honour of the Apostle who, according to Acts 9, here performed the miracle of the resurrection of Tabitha.

After that, we went towards the archaeological site of Caesarea Maritima, also known as Caesarea Palestinae, the Roman capital of the Province of Judea at the time of Jesus and a Crusader fortress along the road from Acre to Jerusalem. The place, containing ancient ruins dating back to Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders and Ottomans, is noted by the “place of hearing,” located near Herod’s palace and where the Pauline episode narrated in Acts 25 happened.

After lunch in the Caesarea National Park, the group moved lastly to Mount Carmel, visiting el-Muhraqa, the Holy Place associated with 1 Kgs. 18, and enjoyed the panoramic view of the plain of Jezreel from the Discalced Carmelite Monastery roof.

The visit, finishing in the late afternoon, was an appropriate moment to introduce the students to another new academic year.

September 10 2019 - STS - Jerusalem On the morning of Monday, September 10, 2019, the new students of the STS, Jerusalem Campus of the Faculty of Theology of the Salesian Pontifical University, gathered at the Academic Suite for their first induction session. After a moment for introducing each other, Sr. Angela, the STS Registrar, and Fr. Gustavo Cavagnari, the STS Principal, presented some information about the Faculty, the Bachelor’s programme of studies, the annual calendar, the 1^st-year timetable, and other administrative aspects. Next, a group photo session preceded the Diplomas’ presentations by Fr. Andrzej Toczyski and Fr. Gustavo himself.

On September 11, the enrolment of the new students took place. Fr. Jaroslaw Rochowiak, the UPS General Secretary, was present for the occasion. The same day in the afternoon, the students had their first topographical visit to the Holy Sepulchre, led by our dear and highly qualified Fr. Leopold Vonck.

On September 12, the new students concluded their induction programme having an introduction to “Living in Israel,” an interesting and fruitful talk about this – still unknown to them – country, under the guidance of Dr. Marcie Lenk.

As they continue to settle into their new surroundings, the new alumni will surely continue to look back and remember this day’s indications throughout their already started studies.

June 14 2019 - STS - Jerusalem Today, June 14th, the STS all gathered to bid farewell to some Staff members and to the Students departing from this Campus after completing of their four-year programme of theological studies.

In the agenda, a special time was allotted for a “Bachelor’s Degree Certificate” giving ceremony. From their part, also the Students concluding one or both the Diplomas programmes received the official document attesting their achievement.

While we gratefully acknowledge the time that we have shared together as Academic Community, we must also accept with regret that next year some members will no longer be among us. We bid them all farewell and we wish them the best of luck in their days ahead. May God bless us all!

Fruit of Labor

Diploma in Inter-religious Dialogue and Ecumenism - Completed

Diploma in Biblical Geography & History - Completed

A song to invoke Grace: My soul says Yes!

June 12 2019 - STS - Jerusalem On today’s morning, June 12^th, the summer session of Baccalaureate arrived to an end. By the authority of the Holy See and on behalf of the Academic Authorities of the Salesian Pontifical University, the last three students were declared “Bachelor in Theology.”

Jude FERNANDO, SDB, presented his Theological Synthesis entitled “The Paschal Mystery as source and summit of Christian life.”

Following, Tiago Rangel CARDOSO, NDS, sit an oral final examination, according to the second procedure contemplated in our Regulations. The candidate presented the biblical foundation of, the patristic and magisterial development of, and a systematic theological reflection on, three proposed theological themes.

Similarly, also Odise LAZRI, SDB, hold a dialogue with the members of the Commission on the bases of three proposed theological themes.

Staff and Students bid them farewell and wish them abundant of blessing in their days ahead. May God bless them all!

Jude FERNANDO, SDB

Tiago Rangel CARDOSO, NDS

Odise LAZRI, SDB

 

June 11 2019 - STS - Jerusalem On today’s morning, June 11^th, the summer session of Baccalaureate exams continued. By the authority of the Holy See and on behalf of the Academic Authorities of the Salesian Pontifical University, other three students were declared “Bachelor in Theology.”

Yan Naing HTUN, SDB, presented his Theological Synthesis entitled “God’s revelation and promise of salvation in the Old Testament is fulfilled in Jesus Christ and proclaimed by the Church to all the world.”

Rakesh Kumar MERUGU, OFM Cap., defended his Theological Synthesis referred to “Christ, prophecy and the life of the Church.”

Finally, Cristóvão OLIVEIRA SILVA, NDS, presented his Theological Synthesis on “Grace and the salvific plan of God.”

Staff and Students bid them farewell and wish them abundant of blessing in their days ahead. May God bless them all!

Yan Naing HTUN, SDB

Rakesh Kumar MERUGU, OFM

Cristóvão OLIVEIRA SILVA, NDS

 

June 10 2019 - STS - Jerusalem On June 10^th, the summer session of Baccalaureate exams began. By the authority of the Holy See and on behalf of the Academic Authorities of the Salesian Pontifical University, three students were declared “Bachelor in Theology.” Congratulations!

Pushparaj ANTHUVAN, SDB, presented his Theological Synthesis on “A theological understanding of faith in the life of the Church.”

Bosco UFOYURU, M.Afr., defended his Theological Synthesis referred to “God and the Salvation History.”

Jerone Fernando WARNAKULASURIYA, SDB, presented his Theological Synthesis entitled “In Christ we have been reconciled with the Father and made co-responsible for our salvation.”

Staff and Students bid them farewell and wish them abundant of blessing in their days ahead. May God bless them all!

Jerone Fernando Warnakulasuriya, SDB

Bosco Ufoyuru, MAf

Pushparaj Anthuvan, SDB

Amit Xess SDB

April 11 2019 - STS - Jerusalem On Thursday April 11^th 2019, the 2^nd Yr. Students of STS, were guided by Fr. Pol Vonck M. Afr. to the City of David, Jerusalem. The visit began at the Dung Gate in the afternoon, from where we walked to the City of David.

The City of David, closed to the neighborhood of Silwan on the outskirts of the Old City, is an archeological site which is speculated to compose the original urban core of ancient Jerusalem. The main archeological sites that can be visited there are: The Gihon spring, which lies on the eastern slope of the south eastern hill of Jerusalem, and is generally considered the very reason why the city first emerged at this specific location; and the ancient water systems connected to the Gihon spring. This system includes natural, masonry built, and rock cut structure, namely, the Spring Tower, the Warren’s shaft (a natural shaft once thought to have been a water supply system), the Siloam Channel (a water system that preceded the Siloam Tunnel), the Siloam Tunnel (a water supply system where the Siloam inscription was found), and the Siloam Pool (two connected pools, an upper one from the Byzantine era, and a second one recently discovered belonging to the Lower Second Temple period).

It was an amazing experience to walk through the tunnel which lasted for almost 20 mins, where inside such a pitch-dark narrow passage, the chilled water reached up to the knees. Our exit was at the Siloam Pool, where we ended our topographical visit. The fruitful visit once again filled each one’s mind with profound information, helping us to picture the life style of the people during that period.

The Hien Pham SDB

April 04 2019 - STS - Jerusalem During our first year of classes, the 1^st-year students have Topographical Visits guided by Fr. Leopold Vonck, M.Afr. The last place we visited this year was the City of David, located outside the walls of today’s Old City.

At 2:00 pm on 4^th April 2019, 25 members of the first year together with gathered with our guide at the City of David’s gate. The state-of-the-art 3D Presentation was the first point we appreciated. There, the place was presented through the generations, from the times of the Bible until today. After that, we went up to the top of the building to see the wonderful view around the city.

To continue our trip, we went to the remains of King David’s Palace. It is known as the “large stone structure” which was discovered beneath ruins from the Byzantine and the Second Temple periods. Specially, we were interested by the delicate patterns on the stones characteristic of that time.

The third stage of our visit was the Royal Quarter, with the House of Ahiel and the “stepped stone structure”. These were destroyed together with the rest of Jerusalem in the Babylonian military attack.

Definitely, the most exciting part of our journey was for us the experience of going through Hezekiah’s Tunnel. This channel led the water to the Shiloah (Siloam) pool. The length of it is approximately 533 meters and the height differential between the source of the spring and the end of the tunnel is a mere 30 centimeters. In some places it is about 1 meter. However, from a biblical point of view, the main highlight for us was Warren’s Shaft, because many historians believe that Solomon’s anointing and coronation as King of Israel occurred at this very place.

For those who did not want to go through Hezekiah’s Tunnel, another option was to go through the Canaanite Tunnel, which is a dry route about 400 meters. On this route one could explore the Canaanite pool and the Fortifications of the Spring House, the Gihon spring, the walls of ancient Jerusalem, the Weill excavation, and Meyuchas House.

The final place visited was the Shiloah (Siloam) pool. This piscina commemorates the Christian tradition of the miracle of the healing of a blind man (John 9). After Fr. Vonck’s interpretation, the whole class took some time to thank God with a short prayer for the guidance of Fr. Vonck and the adventures of the topographical visits during the year.

Belito José Joaquim

April 05 2019 - STS - Jerusalem Our last archaeological excursion as students of theology at the Salesian Pontifical University, here in Jerusalem, took place on 5^th April 2019. Just as it was scheduled, we journeyed first towards Bet Guvrin-Maresha National Park.

The site, located in the Israel’s Shephela region, in the foothills of the Judean Mountains, has a tumultuous history from the Idumean Period through to modern times. After the explanations at the spot of the city remains, we moved further to the so-called ‘Polish Cave’, a deep and beautiful artificial cavern. According to the accounts, the cave was one of the preferred places for the Sidonians, the people that arrived to this place from the ancient Phoenicia. However, its present name refers to the fact that after the 1^st World War, some Polishes used the cave as a place of refuge and planification for the fight against Germans and left some inscriptions on the rocks.

After this, we moved to the ‘Columbarium Cave,’ just a few meters from the previous one. This cave was planned and hewn as a dovecote for raising pigeons for food, for cult purposes, and for their manure which was used as fertiliser in the field of agriculture. Accordingly, we also entered inside the ‘Maize Cave,’ a beautiful place with its incredible as well as complicated irregular network of passages or paths. After that, we visited the Sidonian burial caves, one of which served as a resting place for the family of Apollophanes, and shortly afterwards, we went to see the famous church of Saint Anne, considered to be the first building used for public Christian worship in the region. The temple was first built by the Byzantines and later on rebuilt by the Crusaders, somewhere around 12^th century BC. To finish, we moved to ‘Bell Cave.’

In all, these archaeological sites were first excavated in 1898-1900 by the British archaeologists Bliss and Macalister. However, for the sake of updating and enriching the information about the site, in 1989 new excavations were held by an Israeli archaeologist Amos Kloner on behalf of the Israel Antiquity Authority. Today, this place is listed among the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

After a rustic lunch, the last place visited in our archaeological excursion was Tel Azekah, a town in the Judean foothills guarding the upper reaches of the Valley of Elah, about 26 km northwest of Hebron. It is believed to be the place where the Amorite kings were defeated by Joshua and, perhaps, also the site where David defeated Goliath, the then strongest man in the Philistine army. With this, we completed our exhausting but enriching journey.

March 25-28 2019 - UPS - Rome From 25^th to 28^th March, 2019, the Roman seat of the Faculty of Theology of the Salesian Pontifical University (UPS) promoted the meeting of the Salesian Centres of Theology connected with the Faculty. The event brought together the Heads of the two external Campuses and seventeen Affiliated, Aggregated and Sponsored Centres from Europe (3), Latin America (6), Africa (3) and Asia (5), who participated together with other invited guests.

The purpose of the meeting was to study and deepen the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis gaudium on Ecclesiastical Universities and Faculties, issued by Pope Francis on January 29, 2018.

Among the speakers: Prof. Andrea Bozzolo, SDB, with a presentation on «The Educational and Theological reading of the Prologue of the Veritatis gaudium»; Prof. Dariusz Kowalczyk, SJ, with the report on «The Postmodern “bad” and “good”: What air does today’s theologian breathe?»; Prof. Andrzej Wodka, C.SS.R., on «A crucial expectation of Pope Francis: theology at the heart of polarities of reality»; Prof. Salvatore Currò, CSI, with regard to «The anthropological implications of the Veritatis Gaudium», and Prof. Gustavo Cavagnari, SDB, on the theme «The Pastoral Formation of the candidates for the priesthood in the light of Veritatis gaudium».

The meeting was moderated by Prof. Damasio Medeiros, SDB, Dean of the Faculty of Theology, together with the Salesians Proff. Paolo Carlotti, Sahayadass Fernando and Shaji Puykunnel; and saw the welcome participation of Prof. Mauro Mantovani, Rector of the UPS, of Fr. Francesco Cereda, Vicar of the Salesian Rector Major, of Fr. Eugenio Riva, Religious Superior of the UPS Vice-Province, and of Fr. Francisco Santos, from the Formation Dicastery. On 27^th March, the Most Rev. Vicenzo Zani, Secretary of the Congregation for Catholic Education, presided over the Eucharist for the participants in the meeting at St. Peter’s Tomb.

Furthermore, during the last two days of the Meeting, the participants attended the Conference, «The Way of Beauty. The aesthetic experience in Theology», promoted by the Institute of Dogmatic Theology of the Faculty of Theology.