Antonine University (UA), which traces its roots back to 1996, organized the Closing Ceremony of its Silver Jubilee while still building on its founding principles, staying genuinely committed to creating and expanding a knowledge-based society, as well as empowering its engaged and socially responsible students to fully assume their role as agents of change and strive for the realization and protection of human rights, the promotion of peace, justice, inclusion, and gender equality. Shaped by its prestigious history and imbued with honor for its past, UA upheld its anniversary tradition in recognition of the Feast day of its patron saint, Our Lady of the Seeds, by celebrating a Mass at Our Lady of the Seeds Church at the Hadat–Baabda Main Campus, on Friday, May 13, 2022. UA was glad to see its academic and administrative members united in their determination to seize this moment and express their happiness and pride in sharing the excitement at this joyous occasion and a strong sense of belonging to this community.

Addressing the audience, the Rector did not wish to highlight any of the University’s contributions and achievements, especially that for him, a genuine shift in how institutional events are perceived is necessary. A crisis of this scale forces us to stand back, pause, observe ourselves, and, taking into account the entirety of the circumstances, make informed decisions to work collaboratively toward a better future. He warned the attendees to be careful not to live in denial of reality or turn a blind eye to the tragic cycle of pain we are stuck in, resulting from the economic collapse, the Beirut Port explosion, the financial loss, and the broken dreams. In his opinion, the question that imposes itself is the following: “How do we celebrate the Jubilee in such circumstances?”

In order to answer this question, the Rector revealed the meaning of the Jubilee in the Christian tradition: it is the holy year, the “year of the Lord’s favor” and is thus “an invitation to remember the essence of things.” He continued by affirming that “our noncelebratory attitude this year may be more jubilean than any celebration. In truth, we shared a real jubilean year primarily characterized by joining hands in solidarity to alleviate the burden of the crisis on each other.” Although we are immersed in a full-blown crisis, our moral duty is to challenge ourselves to unite our strengths as a community to step out of the darkness surrounding us. The fact that the “year of the Lord’s favor” comes at the height of the crisis is a sign that we need to reframe the crisis as an opportunity. It must indeed be a period of self-reflection and new beginnings. The Rector concluded by inciting the participants to “take the first step with Our Lady of the Seeds toward a new Jubilee of Antonine University, filled with grace and peace.”

The day culminated with a cocktail reception to allow the attendees to strengthen their bond with each other and develop meaningful connections.

You can access the Rector’s speech delivered on this occasion | [EN] [FR] [AR]