I genuinely admire the works of the Trappist monk Thomas Merton (1915-1968); his literary style and approaches are magnificent! However, there is a book that fascinates me, mainly because of its title: “No man is an island.” The term “island” means that in life, there is only a sense that presumably no human is alone, that no one is self-sufficient, and that we all depend on each other. And it is precisely in that sense that we can understand the internationalization process for PUCPR. It is not a matter of marketing or branding it but of accomplishing a university’s most genuine calling: welcoming realities and being open and available to others, regardless of where they are or where they come from.

By forming “Gente Boa“, as we say in Portuguese, “Good people”, we understand internationalization as a top priority, which aims at training leaders with a global vision and presence to tackle the tremendous modern challenges of society.

And, in that same sense, being a Catholic institution, PUCPR lives up to the adjective “catholic”– when it comes to being “universal,” “comprehensive,” “totalizing” – and, therefore, joins the Global Compact on Education summoned by Pope Francis. It is a global, joint initiative of all who feel responsible for the educational processes, calling on us to weave an education in a communal and solidary way. Hence, internationalization is also what Pope Francis reminded us of a famous African proverb: “It takes a village to raise a child.”