The Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross and Prelate of Opus Dei, Monsignor Fernando Ocáriz, having heard the opinion of the university's governing bodies and the Academic Senate and received confirmation from the Dicastery for Culture and Education, has appointed the new Rector for the quadrennium 2024-2028, the Rev. Prof. Fernando Puig, currently Dean of the School of Canon Law.
The new Rector – who succeeds the Rev. Prof. Luis Navarro after eight years of tenure – will take office on October 1, 2024, at the beginning of the new academic year, which marks the 40th anniversary of the foundation of the University of the Holy Cross. On that same date, Professor Navarro's retirement is scheduled, having joined the Holy Cross in 1986.
Rev. Fernando Puig is a full professor of Church Organization and Government Law at the School of Canon Law of the Holy Cross. Born in Terrassa, Spain, in 1968, he has been a priest incardinated in the Prelature of the Holy Cross and Opus Dei since 2004. He holds a PhD in Private Law from the University of Barcelona and the University of Girona, as well as a doctorate in Canon Law and Dogmatic Theology from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross. He is the author of numerous contributions and articles in specialized journals on topics such as canon law, organization, and governance of ecclesiastical realities and structures (Roman Curia, synodality, episcopal ministry, consecrated life).
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The Academic Community thanks Prof. Luis Navarro for his years of service as Rector of our Institution. During his two terms, academic work in the four faculties and the ISSR at the Apollinare has developed, even during the Covid-19 pandemic period; a process of internal organization reform has been initiated, professionalizing various work procedures; economic and financial measures have been activated to ensure sustainability. In recent years, further impetus has been given to research through the creation of interdisciplinary and interuniversity projects involving scholars and researchers from universities in different countries.
As a member of the Rectors Conference of the Roman Pontifical Institutions (CRUIPRO), of which Rector Navarro is President, the University has joined projects aimed at promoting student and faculty mobility, in line with the requests of Pope Francis' Constitution Veritatis Gaudium. A particularly significant occasion was the Audience granted by the Pope himself to the students and staff of the Pontifical Universities of Rome, which took place on February 25, 2023, during which Professor Navarro had the opportunity to address the Pope on behalf of those present.
