The inauguration ceremony of the 462nd academic year of UNISS has been presented

The Magnificent Rector of the University of Sassari, Gavino Mariotti, will officially inaugurate the 462nd academic year of the university on Monday, February 19th at 11:00 am at the Teatro Comunale di Sassari (piazzale Cappuccini 1). The guest of honor will be the President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi.

At the press conference presenting the event, the Rector, Archbishop of Sassari Gianfranco Saba, and the General Director of the University, Giovanni Maria Soro, intervened. "For us, Cardinal Zuppi is not only the president of the CEI," declared Gavino Mariotti, "but above all, he is a person who is working to foster peaceful relations between states."

After the academic procession enters to the tune of the university anthem "Gaudeamus igitur," institutional greetings from Mayor Gian Vittorio Campus, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Sassari Monsignor Gianfranco Saba, and the President of the Region of Sardinia, Christian Solinas, are expected.

Following this, the Rector will deliver the inaugural address. Subsequently, Alessio Cudoni will speak on behalf of the students, and Alma Cardi will represent the technical, administrative, and library staff.

Immediately after, Cardinal Zuppi will deliver a lecture titled "The Pillars for Peaceful Coexistence in Light of Pope Francis's Encyclical Fratelli tutti."

Following this, the traditional speech by the new Maximum Pontiff of the Turritan Goliardic Association, Pantaleone I Magister Artium (in secular life Andrea Lubrano), will take place. To conclude, the Magnificent Rector will declare the opening of the 2023-2024 academic year, the 462nd since its foundation.

The ceremony will feature performances by the University of Sassari Choir directed by Maestro Fabio Fresi and the Tenores di Bitti "Remunnu 'e Locu."

The event will be streamed live on the website www.uniss.it. Access to the theater is by invitation or accreditation by 10:00 am.

The event is under the patronage of the Municipality of Sassari and is supported by the Foundation of Sardinia.

Following the ceremony around 1:15 PM, the Porta Nuova building on Largo Porta Nuova (near Piazza Università), recently restored, will be inaugurated in the presence of the Rector, Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi, Archbishop Gianfranco Saba, and the Manager of Procurement and Building Area of the University of Sassari, Simone Loddo.

Cardinal Matteo Maria Zuppi was born in Rome on October 11, 1955. He entered the Seminary of Palestrina and pursued his studies for the priesthood at the Pontifical Lateran University, where he earned a Bachelor's degree in Theology. Additionally, he graduated in Letters and Philosophy from the University of Rome, with a thesis in the History of Christianity.

He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Palestrina on May 9, 1981, and incardinated into the Diocese of Rome on November 15, 1988, by Cardinal Ugo Poletti. In 2006, he was honored with the title of Chaplain of His Holiness.

He held various positions, including being a member of the Presbyteral Council from 1995 to 2012, serving as vice-pastor of Santa Maria in Trastevere from 1981 to 2000, and becoming its pastor from 2000 to 2010. From 2005 to 2010, he was Prefect of the III Prefecture of Rome, and from 2000 to 2012, he served as the general ecclesiastical assistant of the Community of Sant'Egidio. He was then transferred from the center of Rome to the vast outskirts of the city in 2012, to Torre Angela, to the parish of Saints Simon and Jude Thaddeus, one of the most populous in the diocese of the Pope. Additionally, from 2011 to 2012, he was also Prefect of the XVII Prefecture of Rome. He is the author of several pastoral publications.

Appointed Titular Bishop of Villanova and Auxiliary of Rome on January 31, 2012, he was consecrated a bishop on April 14 of the same year. On October 27, 2015, he was appointed by Pope Francis as the new Archbishop of Bologna, and his solemn entrance took place on December 12, 2015.

The announcement of his appointment as cardinal was made by Pope Francis during the Angelus on Sunday, September 1, 2019, and he was created cardinal in the Basilica of St. Peter in the Consistory of October 5, 2019, with the title of the church of Sant'Egidio. He is a member of the Dicasteries for Promoting Integral Human Development; for the Oriental Churches; for the Evangelization, Section for the Fundamental Issues of the Evangelization of the World, and the Office of the Administration of the Patrimony of the Apostolic See.

On May 24, 2022, Pope Francis appointed him President of the Italian Episcopal Conference. On June 2, 2023, His Holiness Pope Francis appointed him, effective January 1, 2024, as Judge of the Court of Cassation of the State of Vatican City.