20 years ITI: celebratory weekend highlights the universality of the Catholic Church

Over 300 guests from around the world came to Trumau September 30th – October 1st; Cardinal Schönborn calls the founding of the ITI 20 years ago by St. John Paul II visionary

The Consecration of the new Byzantine Chapel on September 30th presided over by Bishop Boris Gudziak and three other Greek-catholic bishops, the Pontifical Mass celebrated by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn on October 1st in the newly consecrated chapel, and the surprise musical performance by the KisiKids at the opening of the Dies natalis ceremony were a joyful reminder of the richness of the Church’s liturgical and spiritual diversity in unity. This has always been a hallmark of the ITI and its unique campus life. It is also what was celebrated this past weekend commemorating 20 years since the founding of the ITI by Pope St. John Paul II on October 1st, 1996. In his words of welcome Cardinal Schönborn looked back upon 20 years in which he himself received so much from the existence of the ITI and the many friendships he gained from it. Dr. Jörg Splett, the keynote speaker during the Dies natalis ceremony spoke about wisdom and truth and how it is the task of academic formation (akademische Bildung) to pursue these. In this regard, Prof. Splett warned, the discipline of theology has to beware of wishing to measure itself with the sciences, which it can never do because it is primarily aimed at knowing God.