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Catholic University of Portugal

On October 13, 1967, the Lusitanorum Nobilissima Gens decree of the Holy See founded the Catholic University of Portugal. Yes, but you cannot imagine all the drama to get to this day. It all started in 1910, with the implementation of the Portuguese Republic. How? We’ll explain.

 

The connection between the church and religious orders to teaching is very old. It is no coincidence that even today there are still many Catholic schools around the world. Have you ever thought about this? Secular and open schools and universities, as we have today, is something relatively recent. For centuries, the Church was the most dedicated to teaching institution and this meant huge influential over the people, in the most varied dimensions of life in society.

O Século, suplemento humorístico, 8 de dezembro de 1910, www.parlamento.pt/Parlamento/Paginas/Separacao-Estado-Igrejas.aspx

The times change so does the minds, at least some. Over time, the struggle against the church’s power began to gain more and more strength. Actually, one of the big promises of the Portuguese Republic was the secularization of the state. The new regime intended to cut, once and for all, the authority of the Church over the society. Whit this in mind, the Government implemented several reforms with heavy consequences for religious institutions. Among others, the entire Faculty of Theology at the University of Coimbra was extinct and so did the canon law from all the law courses. The Church reacted and protested against all these measures, to the point of cutting diplomatic relations between Portugal and the Vatican. It didn’t work. At the time, it was totally impossible for the church to reverse the law or to contradict the instituted political power.

 

Given this scenario, how did we get to the birth of the Catholic University, you ask? The truth is that there was still a large percentage of Catholic population in Portugal. For years, remained the feeling that the country was lacking a Theology School to form the higher servers of the Church. In another words, Portugal was missing an institution to form priests, so it wouldn’t be necessary to send them to Rome to study, as it was expensive.

 

The discussion about where and how would such an institution work was long. Yes, very long, the first ideas emerged in 1919, at the 1st Congress of the Portuguese Catholic Center and, as refereed before, the Catholic University of Portugal was founded almost 50 years later. 😳🥵

The biggest supporter of such an institution was the Cardinal Cerejeira (1888-1976). He assumed as his own mission to appease the difficult relations between the state and the Church and to restore the respect and consideration that Catholicism had lost during the 1st Republic (1910-1926). The creation of a Catholic University was part of its mission.

 

The dream was set. It remained to be determined the form and place. First, the legal issue. The Republic made sure to forbid religious education, even in private institutions. The implementation of the Estado Novo in 1933 made it possible to overcome this obstacle.

António de Oliveira Salazar beija a mão ao Cardeal Cerejeira, seu amigo de juventude – Arquivos Gesco

Next challenge, the legal framework of the institution. Would it be under the scope of the Church or the Portuguese state? Dreamed by the Catholic Church, is should have a Catholic base. Implemented in Portugal, not respecting the Government’s conditions would mean the courses wouldn’t be accredited by it and, as such, students would not see their qualifications recognized. For all the reasons, to succeed, it was essential to negotiate and respect the conditions imposed by both entities. This matter seems to have been resolved under the 1940 agreement between Portugal and the Holy See.

Another problem to solve, what kind of university? Simply restoring the extinct Faculty of Theology at the University of Coimbra or to create a Catholic University, with multiple faculties? This topic generated great controversy. Some argued that the Church would not have the rigor and scientific objectivity that academia demands, therefore it should focus on Theology. Oliveira Salazar, President of the Council, defended this option. Cardinal Cerejeira defended the second option. Once again, political and religious powers collide. Salazar and Cerejeira had been colleagues in Coimbra and were good friends. The discord was solved.

© Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa | PT-AMLSB-CMLSBAH-PCSP-004-GON-000247 (1977)

Last but not least, where? Different geographies were on the table: Coimbra, Braga, Porto and Lisbon. Cardinal Cerejeira, who had been a student and teacher in Coimbra, changed his view on the subject several times. Finally, when settled that it would be in Lisbon, where, concretely?

 

In the 1950s, tired of too much talking and few results, the Cardinal decided to create a task force to solve all these problems: how, where and who would fund it. From our readings, it seems that, at this point, the greatest headache was to find estate to install the university. According to Eng. Luís Guimarães Lobato, a member of the task force, “the Patriarchate of Lisbon had several plots, but all involved in administrative proceedings of complicated resolution”. Were those parcels still the ones confiscated when implementing the First Republic in 1910? 😳

 

Today we know the result. There is a Catholic University Portuguese, non-state, properly framed in the Portuguese legal education system and with several colleges. The headquarters is in Lisbon, in Palma de Cima, and there teaching units spread throughout the country: Lisbon, Braga, Porto and Viseu.

© Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa | PT-AMLSB-CMLSBAH-PCSP-004-JBG-001195 (1968)

But did you know that Lisbon was not the first location? In fact, the first embryo of the Catholic University Portuguese was the Company of Jesus Faculty of Philosophy, operating in Braga since 1947. In 1967, the Holy See instituted it as the first faculty of the long-awaited Catholic University Portuguese, “before its extension, as soon as possible, to the central headquarters in Lisbon.” The following year, in 1968, it was inaugurated in Lisbon, in Palma de Cima, the Faculty of Theology. The building remains the same. The rest is history. Fulfilling Cardinal Cerejeira’s dream, slowly and over time, the university grew, new faculties and teaching units were opened and new structures were built.

In 1982, in his visit to the UCP headquarters campus, in Palma de Cima, Pope John Paul II blessed and launched the first stone for the construction of the library that was built here, the João Paulo II Library. Remarkable. For years, this and the one in Instituto Superior Technical were the only ones opened 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Can you imagine the result? It was refuge for studying for more almost the entire student population in Lisbon. Place of study, probably of a lot of tears and frustration, but mainly a lot of work, socialization, a few naps and much laughter. How many of us have these memories? Apart from the very comfortable common spaces and a world of books about the most varied themes, there are also private offices, great for group work. On that side, how many of you are part of the squad who smoked there? 😅 Other good memories, do students still skip classes to stay at the bar playing “espadinha”? 😆

In 1994, a new building was raised to install the Faculty of Economic and Business Sciences, today Católica Lisbon School of Business Economics. The project was designed by Luís Cunha, a post-modernist style architect, with a vast CV in projects related to the Church. Can you identify this same trace in other religious buildings across the country? For example, in Lisbon, have you noticed Cristo-Rei da Portela de Sacavém’s church or the reception building of Cristo Rei’s Sanctuary? It is not in vain that some remember him as a “man who praised his Faith in God through Architecture”.

As for the good people who are part of the university, we heard about the eternal problem-solver D. Laura, who still works on the Secretariat of the Catholic Lisbon School of Business Economics. We also heard about the time when Tolentino Mendonça was the chaplain of the university. Today he is Cardinal and Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, in the Roman Curia. And the Professor João César das Neves, are his exams still stories with mysteries for the students to solve?

In August 2023, during the World Youth Days, it was the turn of Pope Francis’ visit. He blessed the first stone for the construction of the new Veritati Campus. Designed by the architect Carrilho da Graça, the intention is to expand the current facilities and add a large innovation center at the north end of the current UCP campus.

https://givetocatolica.ucp.pt/node/715

https://givetocatolica.ucp.pt/campus-veritati

There are more than many former students who are a reference for Portuguese society. To name just a few: António Horta Osório, Filipe de Botton, Isabel Jonet, Pedro Norton, Vítor Gaspar, Paulo Portas, Paulo Rangel, António Pires de Lima, Maria da Glória Garcia, Maria dos Prazeres Beleza, Ricardo Araújo Pereira, Pedro Mexia, Miguel Araújo, David Dinis, Miguel Pinheiro, among others.

 

With an eye on the future, but without losing references of the past, UCP continues, in a very dynamic way, to invest in new partnerships, protocols and programs. One of the programs that seemed very interesting to us is the Mentoring program. It encourages the connection between academia and real life and vice versa, by promoting a “one-to-one” exchange of experiences between new and old students. Does anybody know if Ricardo Araújo Pereira is part of this program? If that’s the case, I think we’ll all become freshmen again. 😅

 

Well, here you have the history of the Portuguese Catholic University and some – few – stories and memories of those who lived and live the university. In fact, this is a part that we most enjoy. The story made by people. Does anyone have more to add? 😃

 

And Bordalo II work, the White Dove (2016), on the exterior side of the Rectory building, don’t you love it?

Informations:

References:

    • Alves, A. A. (2017) Estudo de Impacto 50 anos da Universidade Católica Portuguesa. Fundação Amélia de Mello e Universidade Católica Portuguesa: Lisboa.
    • Cruz, M. B. (2028) História da Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Universidade Católica Portuguesa: Lisboa.
    • Lobato, L. G. (2004) Memórias Técnicas. Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian e ISQ: Lisboa.
    • Moreira, A. M. (1990) O Cardeal Cerejeira, fundador da Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Lusitania Sacra, 2ª série, 2
    • https://www.ucp.pt/pt-pt/catolicainstitucional/historia
    • https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universidade_Católica_Portuguesa
    • https://app.parlamento.pt/COMUNICAR/Artigo.aspx?ID=974

Additional Photos:

Website Cover:

    • © Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa | PT-AMLSB-CMLSBAH-PCSP-004-NBS-001095 (1971)

Socials:

    • © Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa | PT-AMLSB-CMLSBAH-PCSP-004-JBG-001194 (1968)
    • © Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa | PT-AMLSB-CMLSBAH-PCSP-004-JBG-001195 (1968)
    • © Arquivo Municipal de Lisboa | PT-AMLSB-CMLSBAH-PCSP-004-NBS-001094 (1971)