Pope Francis at Universidade Católica: "Replace fears with dreams."

"Replace fears with dreams. Do not be managers of fears, but entrepreneurs of dreams". These were the words of Pope Francis at the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, during the Meeting with University Students, which took place on August 3.

The Holy Father also asked young people to ensure that "academic titles are not just a selfish and personal privilege". He also said that he dreams of a "Generation of masters. Masters of humanity, masters of compassion, masters of new opportunities for the planet and its inhabitants. Masters of Hope".

At the ceremony, the President of the Universidade Católica Portuguesa, Isabel Capeloa Gil, welcomed the Holy Father and after a presentation about the University said: "We are a University with a strong social sense, awarding scholarships and prizes to more than twenty per cent of our students". Isabel Capeloa Gil added that "the University is by definition a space of search, risk, discomfort, dialogue and welcome".

The President also emphasised that "in the face of realities marked by exclusion and inequality, in a time of uncertainty, the University stands as the guardian of Hope, which means promoting the capacity to dream, helping to discern, listening to the voices around us, listening to the time, intervening in it, defending the dignity of women and men, believing in their capacity for transformation".

At this meeting with university students, the Holy Father also heard testimonies from students involved in the "Global Education Pact", in the initiative "The Economy of Francesco", in the application of the encyclical Laudato si' and from Mahoor Kaffashian, an Iranian refugee, student of Dental Medicine at the Faculty of Dental Medicine of Católica.

Tomás Virtuoso, Master in Economics from the Católica Lisbon School of Business and Economics, Mariana Craveiro, a Psychology graduate from the Faculty of Education and Psychology, and Beatriz Ataíde, a Philosophy student at the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, were the other students chosen by Católica to speak to the Holy Father.

The ceremony also included the blessing of the first stone of the new campus of Católica (Campus Veritati) and the participation of the UCP Choir.

Watch here the Meeting of Pope Francis with University Students.