By Archbishop Thomas Wenski - The Archdiocese of Miami
Homily by Archbishop Thomas Wenski at Mass at St. Thomas University on the feast day of St. Thomas of Villanova, patron saint of the university. Sept, 22, 2026. Miami Gardens, FL.
Thomas of Villanova is the patron saint of this university. He lived in 15th century Spain. A noted intellectual of his times, he was a Doctor of Philosophy, he later was named Archbishop of Valencia and became known as the father of the poor. He preached with clarity and lived with compassion. Though entrusted with authority, he chose simplicity and radical generosity, giving nearly all he possessed to the poor.
His example challenges us to resist excess, prioritize faith and learning, and see Christ in those most easily overlooked.
This University, which was originally known as Villanueva, was first planted in Habana, Cuba; then in 1961, uprooted by the Cuban revolution, it was transplanted here in Miami by the Augustinian Fathers, first as Biscayne College and then over the years it grew into what today is St. Thomas University.
The history of this school mirrors the history of many of its students – many of whom are also “transplants” from other nations and cultures. St. Thomas University has been “good soil” for these “transplants” – for, because of the education they received at St. Thomas, our students have not only grown; they have flourished. And we see the fruits in the many positive contributions our alumni are making to the communities in which they live.
As a Catholic University, we believe in both the value and power of faith and the value and power of reason. We believe that truth is one. In that sense, there can be no real contradiction between belief and science, between faith and reason. The so-called “contradictions” that some would allege are only apparent ones that can be resolved through honest and reasonable inquiry.
Pope Saint John Paul II said: “Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth – in a word, to know himself – so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.”
This is really a great description of what an academic pursuit that aspires to call itself “higher education” should be about. In a time when people are tempted to think “that it’s all about me”, an education in the Catholic tradition reminds us that the path to self-realization and true happiness is not found through self-seeking but through self-giving. The purpose of education is not for us to “get more” but to help us “be more.”
Here at St. Thomas faith, while personal, can never be simply “private” – reduced to the subjective; rather, in sponsoring this university, the Church as she has through her history wishes that her faith, through reasoned dialogue, will shape the culture in which she lives – so that the culture may become more worthy of man.
We have just begun a new academic year with Father Rafael Capo appointed as interim president while the board of trustees conducts a search for a new president.
So, it is appropriate that we begin in prayer. Prayer is not the last recourse of the desperate although one might get that impression around exam time; rather, it is the prime resource of the hopeful. For prayer is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God. Through prayer, we open those same minds and hearts to a future of hope, a hope that is not limited only to this life, but to the Eternal Life for which God has created each one of us.
Prayer, for a Christian, is not self-absorbed navel gazing, rather it is the opening of ourselves to transcendence, to an encounter with the Infinite and Ever-Living God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ as our Way, our Truth, and our Life.
Here at St. Thomas faith, while personal, can never be simply “private” – reduced to the subjective; rather, in sponsoring this university, the Church as she has through her history wishes that her faith, through reasoned dialogue, will shape the culture in which she lives – so that the culture may become more worthy of man.
St. Thomas of Vilanova, pray for us!
