Dr Peter Meehan, President of St Jerome’s University in Ontario, Canada, speaks to Vatican News about the new Pope Francis Institute, which aims to keep the pastoral and intellectual legacy of the late Pope alive.
By Joseph Tulloch
St Jerome’s University in Canada has announced a new ‘Pope Francis Institute’, which aims to build on the late Pope’s legacy in Canada and around the world.
The Institute, which is thought to be the first of its kind anywhere in the world, will offer courses, lectures, and formation programmes rooted in Francis’ magisterium.
Dr Peter Meehan, President of St Jerome’s University
Keeping a legacy alive
Pope Francis “had deep pastoral instinctsâ€, says Dr Peter Meehan, President of St Jerome’s. “He really understood the world, and he really understood the message of the Second Vatican Councilâ€.
Dr Meehan praises the late Pope’s focus on migration, the environment, and outreach to “people of all orientations and backgroundsâ€, which, he said, reflected the “message of engagement with the world†which emerged from the Council.
Francis’ message, says Dr Meehan, a professor of history, was “the right one for our times†– and the new Institute will have the task of “keeping that legacy aliveâ€.
The Louis Hall Graduate Residence at St. Jerome’s University
Serving the world
When the Pope Francis Institute, which was announced last month, officially opens later this year, it will host dialogues, conferences, and spiritual retreats.
Housed within St Jerome’s, a Catholic university in Ontario, Canada, it will also offer courses, including a Certificate in Catholic Leadership. Additionally, the Institute aims to eventually hire full-time research fellows.
Dr Meehan explains that, inspired by its namesake, the Pope Francis Institute will aim to reach beyond the borders of both academia and of the Catholic Church.
 “A Catholic university is like a Catholic hospital,†he says. “We have an obligation to serve the world outside of our university.â€
While, therefore, a major focus will be “doing good inside the Churchâ€, Dr Meehan stresses that he will know that “we’re really doing our job†when the Institute attracts non-Catholics, too.
A legacy continued
Talking to Dr Meehan, you get the impression that the Institute has received new momentum from the pontificate of Francis’ successor, Pope Leo XIV.
Two major themes of Leo’s pontificate so far, Meehan says, are synodality and the implementation of the Second Vatican Council: Leo has dedicated a long series of catecheses entirely to a discussion of the Council’s major documents.Â
These themes, Dr Meehan points out, were central to Francis’ pontificate – and will be at the heart of the new Institute when it officially opens later this year.
