The important role of Catholic Higher Education

Catholic higher education plays “a very important role”, because the Catholic Church “is still a credible Institution, which people trust because of her ability to be in favour of the human person and to be a mediator in seeking solutions to the more delicate problems in society and in our common life”, said Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, during her address at the Annual Meeting of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities (ACCU), on Sunday morning, 2 February, at the Grand Hyatt Washington in the capital of the United States of America.

Working for the good of all

Sister Raffaella Petrini, General Secretary of the Governorate of Vatican City State, has received an honorary degree in human sciences from Seton Hall University. The official ceremony took place during the 168th Commencement ceremony on Tuesday, 21 May, in the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, USA.

The Secretary General of the Governorate, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, has attended the 142nd Supreme Convention of the Knights of Columbus, held in Québec City, Canada, from 6 to 8 August.

Among the many activities detailed in his annual report at the Convention, the Supreme Knight, Patrick E. Kelly, mentioned the Knights Of Columbus’ funding for the restoration of the bronze Baldachin in Saint Peter’s Basilica. The Directorate of Museums and Cultural Heritage cooperates with the Fabric of Saint Peter in all diagnostic examinations and in the development of methods of intervention.

Global Innovation and Transformation

Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, will lead a State Delegation at the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24), scheduled to be held in New Delhi, India, from 15 to 24 October 2024. During the Assembly, which will meet after the Global Standard Symposium (GSS-24),  which will take place on 14 October,  Sr. Petrini will deliver an official address.

Managers with expertise in humanity for a profession experienced as a vocation

Strategies of hope and renewal “cannot avoid engaging with the reality of human work as a fundamental dimension of existence, through which men and women, even within ecclesiastical institutions, build their lives”, said Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate, on Saturday morning, 4 January, during her address to the 34th Seminar for Theology Professors at the Spanish Pontifical College’s Casa San Juan Ávila, in Rome. The course addressed the theme: “Hope for a more humane economy? Between care and hospitality”.

Lights, music and art to announce the birth of Jesus

Christmas music, melodies and lights brightened the darkness of the night. The much-anticipated moment has arrived, when people can admire the nativity scene and see the Christmas tree lights in Saint Peter’s Square. Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga and Sr. Raffaella Petrini, respectively, President and Secretary General, of the Governorate of Vatican City State, inaugurated the nativity scene from Grado and lit the 29-metre red fir Christmas tree, from Ledro, during a ceremony on Saturday evening, 7 December before a crowd of people.

A common journey

“Forty-one years of history of the Patrons of the Arts of the Vatican Museums are the result of a common journey”, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, General Secretary of the Governorate of Vatican City State, said in her greeting to the annual meeting of the Chapters of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums held at the Taylor Education Center in New Orleans on Sunday afternoon, 22 September, the second to last day of her visit to the United States of America.

On Thursday morning, 27 February, the Governorate of Vatican City State signed an important Protocol of Cooperation with the Customs and Monopolies Agency of the Italian Republic at the Agency's headquarters in Piazza Mastai, Rome. The agreement, which is aimed at revitalizing customs cooperation, was signed by Mr. Roberto Alesse, Director of the Customs and Monopolies Agency, and by Cardinal Fernando Vérgez Alzaga, President of the Governorate.

Changing culture with the Gospel

Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, will be in Houston, as part of a brief journey to the United States, from Friday, 25 October to Sunday, 27 October. On Saturday morning, 26 October, Sr. Petrini is scheduled to deliver a talk at the Lumen Institute, on the theme ,“Mission to change culture” . It will be an opportunity to exchange reflections on cultural changes in the management and administrative area, fostered by the implementation of the principles of Catholic social teaching.

The Illinois Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums is commemorating the tenth anniversary of its initiative, “Integrating Art & Faith”.

On Saturday, 26 October, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, visited the Texas Chapter of the Patrons of the Arts in the Vatican Museums, at St. Thomas University in Houston, United States of America.

The Pope’s Museum: a treasure of art and faith

The bond between art and faith, between evangelization and creative expression and the role of the Vatican Museums within this context were some of the topics discussed at a round table discussion between Cardinal Blase Joseph Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago, and Sr. Raffaella Petrini, Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, held on Saturday afternoon, 2 November at the University Club of Chicago. Moderated by Rev. Louis J. Cameli, Delegate of formation and mission of the Archdiocese.

The Secretary General of the Governorate, Sr. Raffaella Petrini, and the Director of the Directorate of Telecommunications and Information Systems, Mr. Antonino Intersimone, respectively, Chief and member of the Vatican Delegation to the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-24), are back in New Delhi for the conclusion of the global assembly. The closing ceremony will take place on Thursday, 24 October.

A warm meeting of friendship and sharing took place between Sister Raffaella Petrini, President of the Governorate of Vatican City State, and a group of 17 young university students from the Diocese of Trieste, on Tuesday morning, 4 March, in the Palace of the Governorate. The students were led by Fr. Lorenzo Magarelli, Episcopal Delegate of the Diocesan Service of University Pastoral Care and Director of the diocesan weekly, “Il Domenicale di San Giusto”, and Fr. Sergio Frausin, Episcopal Delegate of Culture and University Pastoral Care.

Placing the Human Person at the Center: Towards an Economy of Care and Dignity

In recent decades, two epochal events—the  global financial crisis in 2008 and the Covid-19 pandemic—have profoundly shaken the foundations of traditional economic models, clearly exposing their structural limitations. In this context, a reflection has gained renewed momentum across academic, political, and religious spheres: the urgent need to rethink the economy starting from the centrality of the human person, with his or her inviolable dignity and inherent fragility.