On October 23, Católica held the National Opening Ceremony of the 2026/2027 Academic Year and the Graduation Ceremony for the Class of 2025/2026 at the Cardeal Medeiros Auditorium in Lisbon. The gathering brought together the academic community, graduates, and partners to celebrate shared achievements and renew a collective commitment to human and societal development.
Opening the session, the Rector of Católica, Isabel Capeloa Gil, reflected on the "anxiety of beginnings" alongside the challenges and opportunities that accompany every new chapter. Amid deep transformations driven by the impact of artificial intelligence, she emphasized the vital role of a human-centered education that champions dialogue, inquiry, and discernment: "True education emerges through dialogue within a community of students and professors. It shapes discernment rather than delivering standardized answers." Highlighting the essential contribution of the university's former students, she added that "today’s ceremony recognizes the legacy of many", reminding attendees that "the alumni are the most living expression of our mission".
A central highlight of the event was the conferral of the Doctor Honoris Causa degree upon William P. Leahy, S.J., President Emeritus of Boston College, a benchmark institution he led for three decades. In his address, Father Leahy shared a forward-looking vision of hope for Catholic higher education, affirming that universities must maintain an active dialogue with history and tradition, foster intellectual freedom, and cultivate encounters across people, ideas, and cultures, uniting academic rigor, ethical commitment, and service to the common good. Bruno Nobre, S.J., who sponsored the honor, outlined four cornerstones of Leahy's leadership: fidelity to the institution's Catholic and Jesuit identity, coherence connecting mission, vision, and action, pastoral support for fellow Jesuits, and the nurturing of enduring friendships.
The alumni voice was shared by Isabel Ucha, CEO of Euronext and an alumna of the institution. Highlighting the long-standing impact of Católica's educational vision on national development, she voiced the hope that the university may continue to "educate excellent professionals, but above all, better human beings and better citizens to face the world we live in".
The ceremony also celebrated perseverance and academic excellence through the blessing and presentation of diplomas to representatives of the 2025/2026 graduating classes, the presentation of the UCP / Caixa Geral de Depósitos Awards, the 2026 Pedagogical Innovation Awards, and the awarding of service medals honoring faculty and staff with 25 and 40 years of service.
Concluding the ceremony, D. Rui Valério, Patriarch of Lisbon and Grand Chancellor of Católica, addressed the ethical responsibility incumbent upon universities in an age of swift technological transformation: "Not everything that is technically possible is humanly desirable."
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