From 24 to 27 September, St Saviour’s convent in Jerusalem is hosting the conference entitled “The Word and the Places.” This event concludes the celebrations for the centenary of the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (SBF) and for the occasion all the former students of the university were invited to attend.
An indissoluble bond between word and place
As the Dean of the Studium Biblicum, Fra Rosario Pierri stressed, the title of the conference refers to the tradition of the institute: “We have always linked the word with the places, the local tradition and so to the places of the Christian tradition and of the biblical tradition. The word is linked not only with archaeology, but history, and therefore the living tradition of the Holy Land.”
The former students speak
On Tuesday 24 some former students of the Studium were present at the conference. Mons. Mauro Maria Morfino, Bishop of Alghero-Bosa, underlined the importance of the Studium in raining figures capable of transmitting the faith and the passion for the study of the Bible: “I believe that the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum is an institution that has sown seeds in the whole of the Catholic Church. Great men, in the first place great men of faith, who put their life at the disposal of studying the Word.”
Michelangelo Priotto, guest professor at the SBF, also highlighted the uniqueness of studying the Bible in the Holy Land: “It is a privilege to study the Bible in the land where it was born. It is not only a theoretical message, but it is the expression that was born in a community, in a country, with real people.”
The Studium Biblicum, continuous research
Fra Alessandro Chiavicchia, professor of exegesis of the New Testament at the SBF, underscored the importance of continuing to investigate the importance of the Word of God in the contemporary world: “The Studium Biblicum Franciscanum celebrates the history, but also wants to continue reflecting on how the Word of God has made holy and makes holy, not only this Land and the history in this place, but also every time and place.”
An exhibition to celebrate the centenary
In addition to the conference, there is the exhibition entitled “What we have heard, seen and touched, we announce it to you.” The exhibition celebrates and tells the story of the hundred years of activity of the Studium Biblicum, as Gianantonio Urbani, curator and professor at the SBF explains: “We wanted to give this title to take the hundred years of biblical and archaeological discoveries and put them together in a simple exhibition and arouse in the public the desire to come to these places and relish the word of God, here where it was manifested and generated.”
By Lucia Borgato | custodia.org
