Yesterday, the Archdiocese of Braga and the Portuguese Catholic University (UCP) thanked Professor José da Silva Lima for his important contribution to the creation of the UCP Regional Centre in Braga.
This gesture of gratitude was expressed during a tribute to the professor at the Camões campus, as part of the celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the UCP Regional Centre in Braga.
The tribute to the president of the Installation Committee of the Braga Regional Centre was attended by Paulo Dias, pro-rector of UCP, Bruno Nobre, director of the Faculty of Philosophy and Social Sciences, João Duque, professor at the Faculty of Theology of UCP, and Canon Luís Miguel Rodrigues, director of the Faculty of Theology, representing the Metropolitan Archbishop, who was unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts.
Other guests included the Vice-Mayor of Braga, the Director of the Major Seminary, the President of UDIPSS Braga, the Ombudsman of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Braga, and other civil and military entities.
In a message read by Canon Luís Miguel Rodrigues, D. José Cordeiro began by thanking Professor José da Silva Lima, priest of the Diocese of Viana do Castelo, for the many years he dedicated to the Faculty of Theology of Braga, preparing students for the Priestly Ministry and other pastoral or teaching activities in the region.
We owe him a great deal for his dedication, the quality of which is, on many levels, undeniable and sets a benchmark," said the Archbishop. José Cordeiro also highlighted the role of the teacher in establishing and consolidating the Braga Regional Centre of the Portuguese Catholic University 25 years ago. A project of the Church, he stressed, ‘highly significant for the entire Minho region,’ in what is ‘a higher education and research contribution to the social and cultural context of its inhabitants.’
"The Archdiocese of Braga will be forever grateful to Professor José da Silva Lima for his hard work, dedication and competence. Thanks to his leadership, it was possible to establish a consistent university centre with a notable presence in the region and a promising future. And the Church recognises the enormous value of this work,‘ he emphasised. Although the Portuguese Catholic University was already present in Braga in 1999, with the establishment of the Regional Centre, ’it expanded and deepened significantly, bringing together various institutions involved," added D. José. The Archbishop of Braga ended his message by highlighting the ‘exemplary’ contribution of Professor José da Silva Lima in ‘cultivating the relationship between’ the Dioceses of Braga and Viana do Castelo through numerous educational initiatives. ‘He did not limit himself to territorial horizons, but opened up spaces for interaction that are increasingly necessary, especially in the cultural and social context of the contemporary world, which is increasingly demanding and does not sympathise with narrow horizons,’ added the prelate in this message read with ‘emotion’ by Canon Luís Miguel Rodrigues, who was a student of Professor José da Silva Lima.
