Gregorian University Foundation: Fact Sheet

"In these centers of learning, professors and students gather from all parts of the world to serve the Church through their study and research . . . spreading the light of Christ's truth to every corner of the globe."

POPE JOHN PAUL II

" . . . the Pontifical Gregorian University, the Vatican's premier training ground for priests and others entering religious life . . . "

THE NEW YORK TIMES
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History

St. Ignatius, founder of the Society of Jesus, established the Gregorian University as The Roman College in 1551. It is the only Jesuit university founded by St. Ignatius himself.

Lecture hall at the Gregorian University

The Roman College obtained University status in 1553.

Pope Gregory gave a new building and an endowment in 1582. In 1876 the College was re-named The Gregorian University.

The Pontifical Biblical Institute (the "Biblicum") was founded by St. Pius X in 1909.

The Pontifical Institute of Eastern Christian Studies (the "Orientale") was founded by Pope Benedict XV in 1917.

The Gregorian, the Biblicum, and the Orientale were federated into the Gregorian University Consortium by Pope Pius XI in 1928.

Alumni/ae

72 saints and blessed are alumni of the Gregorian.

17 popes (8 of the last 11) were Gregorian alumni or former faculty.

His Holiness, Benedict XVI, was a Visiting Professor at the Gregorian University in the Faculty of Theology during 1972-1973.

Approximately one-third of the current College of Cardinals studied there.

More than 900 bishops (about 75 from the United States) are numbered among the 12,000 living alumni.

Students

Approximately 3,800 students, representing 151 countries and territories on six continents, are enrolled.

Approximately 20% of the students are lay men and lay women.

Almost 400 North American students attend the Gregorian.

Faculty

The Jesuits operate the University and provide the largest percentage of faculty.

Scholarship

The Gregorian is the largest center for the training of Church leadership and ministry and a world center of scholarship and research.

The Gregorian promotes world understanding and ecumenical values through relations with Christians of other churches and members of non-Christian religions.

The Oriental Institute Library

The three Gregorian libraries house more than 1.2 million volumes, including many rare and unique works.

Contributions to international learning include the annual publication of some 700 scholarly articles and books in a wide variety of languages, in addition to the publishing of 22 major academic journals.