Pope Leo XIV calls on Catholic universities to ‘serve the truth faithfully’

CHICLAYO, Peru — Pope Leo XIV offered a mission statement for Catholic higher education as a bastion of truth-seeking and humanity in a world increasingly dominated by soulless technocratic utilitarianism.

Speaking Friday, Nov. 13, in his former diocese, the pope said a university is called to be “a forge of talents and a laboratory of meaning: a space where intelligence does not bow to utility but serves the truth faithfully” — above all, he added, “the Truth with a capital T, who is Christ, the Savior of the world.”

“The Catholic university works to foster the fruitful encounter between faith and reason, and between religion and science,” the pope continued . “This academic approach frees us from the temptation to produce only a skilled workforce for an exclusive and highly competitive market.”

Leo made his remarks during a visit to Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo Catholic University in Chiclayo, where as bishop he also served as the university’s grand chancellor. Friday was his first time back in the city since his election as pope in May 2025.

The institution is named for St. Turibius of Mogrovejo, a Spanish missionary who served as archbishop of Lima from 1581 until his…