A Welcome from the Viterbo President and AFCU

Welcome to the 2025 AFCU Symposium at Viterbo University. We are so happy that you are here and are grateful that you have taken the time to join us and so many colleagues from our greater Franciscan family. The team at Viterbo has worked hard to prepare for your arrival and we appreciate all that has been done in preparation for this symposium.

This year, as our theme suggests, we celebrate the 800th year of the Canticle of the Creatures, composed by our patron, St. Francis of Assisi. We are also aware of the celebration of the 10th year of Pope Francis’s encyclical, Laudato Si’.

In the time we have together, we pause to reflect on the beauty of creation, the unity of all life, and the divine presence that flows through “Brother Sun and Sister Moon” and every living thing. St. Francis, through his Canticle, calls us into deeper communion with the earth, with one another, and with the Creator, who we praise through all things.

As members of institutions rooted in the Franciscan intellectual and spiritual tradition, let us open our minds and hearts to what we hear in the Canticle. Let us be open to God working through each of us. May these days inspire our learning, our connections with one another, our ongoing commitment to justice and peace, and our desire to care for our common home.

Peace and blessings to you all,
“Pace e Bene”

Richard C. Trietley President Viterbo University Chair, AFCU Board of Directors	Debi Haug Executive Director Association of Franciscan Colleges and Universities