2020 was characterized by the Covid-19 pandemic, which continues to this day. In causing numerous inconveniences, it has helped to bring some critical elements of the academic context to the forefront. It is in this situation that some Catholic universities in the Roman territory, a privileged place of the Catholic experience, have begun to discuss the challenges to be faced and the possible synergies to be implemented in view of the common good.

The University of Notre Dame Rome Global Gateway, Georgetown Representative Office in Rome, Pontifical Athenaeum of Saint Anselm, Libera Università Maria Santissima Assunta (LUMSA), Pontifical Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, Pontifical Gregorian University, Pontifical University of Saint Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Pontifical Urban University thus created a laboratory in which to reflect on the present time in the light of the Foreword of the Apostolic Constitution Veritatis Gaudium.

“The contemplation and the presentation of a spiritual, intellectual and existential introduction to the heart of the kerygma, the open dialogue, the interdisciplinarity exercised in the light of Revelation, the invitation to network between the various institutions” are the object of common reflection between the participants in this workshop, starting from the specificity of each institution involved and aiming for new synergies and greater awareness of the challenges that the pandemic has helped to highlight.

Consistently with what is hoped for by the Foreword, the dialogue between the Academic Institutions involved is intended to be a constructive response to a period of difficulty that encourages the search for forms of collaboration in the pursuit of common goals.