On Friday, October 4th, the Institute of Anthropology at the Pontifical Gregorian University (IADC) welcomed the forty-eight students as they begin this new academic year. The IADC educates students from around the world who are passionate about protecting human dignity and who strive to create safe environments and save spaces. Students can get a Diploma in Safeguarding or a Licentiate in Safeguarding, both of which have a heavy focus on research and how to educate others on the topic of the prevention of abuses and how to promote a safer church.

The day started with a mass held by Fr. Hans Zollner, the director of the IADC, who gathered the students as one to worship and pray for the academic year ahead. When speaking on the new academic year, Fr. Hans Zollner describes the heart of the mission of the IADC and how it is “to do whatever can be done so that we prevent abuse, but most of all that we create safe spaces, safe relationships, and safe processes in all of our environments – where we live, where we work, in our institutions, in our communities, and in the whole church.”

The mass was then followed by Cultural Day, a yearly tradition at the IADC to highlight the many different nationalities within the student body. Between the forty-eight current IADC students, there are students from twenty-six different countries from six different continents.

The Cultural Day gives the opportunity for the students to bring dishes from their prospective countries and cultures and share these significant dishes with their new peers and the staff. Some of the dishes brought this year included Chapati, Abon ikan tenggiri, Shev, Balchão, and Unni appam. Together, the students shared these meals while discussing among their peers, faculty, and staff. Overall, Friday served as a positive start to the beginning of an academic year full of learning, growth, and meaningful collaboration.