D. Nuno Almeida and Orlando Rodrigues left a message of hope for the IPB finalists (C/ Photos)

The bishop of Bragança-Miranda, D. Nuno Almeida, and the president of the Polytechnic Institute of Bragança, Orlando Rodrigues, left a message of hope to the more than 850 finalists who on Saturday filled the Cathedral, in Bragança, for the blessing of the folders, at the end of the academic journey, in a space that was small for so many people as family and friends also insisted on being present.

“Dear young people, you are the generation that can combine the exercise of freedom with a great sense of responsibility. You have the most advanced scientific and technological tools, but you need to avoid the trap of partial visions. Never forget that we need an “integral ecology”; we need to listen to the suffering of the planet alongside the suffering of the poor; we need to place the drama of desertification alongside the drama of refugees, the issue of migration alongside the decline in birth rates; we need to treat the material dimension of life within a spiritual dimension. Not to create polarizations, but to create global visions”, began by stressing D. Nuno Almeida, who recalled the words of Pope Francis at World Youth Day, in Lisbon, last summer: “Friends, allow me to tell you: seek and take risks. At this historic moment, the challenges are enormous, the groans are painful – we are experiencing a third world war in pieces -, but we embrace the risk of thinking that we are not in agony, but in labor; We are not at the end, but at the beginning of a great show. And it takes courage to think like that. Be, therefore, protagonists of a “new choreography” that puts the human person at the center, be choreographers of the dance of life. (…) Therefore, have the courage to replace your fears with dreams.”

The prelate ended, with a message of hope: “Dear IPB finalists from various parts of Lusophony and the world, you collect the flame from the hands of your elders (your parents and family, teachers and the academic and social community of Bragança) and you will live in globalization, «at the time of the most gigantic transformations» of this profound change of era. Be protagonists of a new humanity! Never forget the encounter with Jesus Christ, blessing and Light that illuminates your future!
May the blessing of God, which will pour out through the mystery of water, quench your thirst for happiness and peace”, he concluded, in the homily.

President of IPB “proud”

The president of IPB, Orlando Rodrigues, after a ceremony full of emotion, highlighted the “pride” felt “in each one” of the finalists. “We know that the route you choose is demanding and difficult, but that was your choice!

You chose to qualify and embrace professions that you know are demanding and that will continue to demand from you, in the future, a continuous effort to qualify and demand.

D. Nuno Almeida, our Bishop, in his doctoral thesis, studied the thought of Viktor Frankl, a well-known Austrian neuropsychiatrist who maintained that human beings, each one of us, will be free as long as they know how to choose their attitude in any circumstance, choose your own path.

This fundamental freedom of human beings, to know how to make their choices, is as important today as it was in other historical periods, or in other contexts, of deprivation of freedom by force. Today, some forms of global alienation also carry the risk of leading us to let others choose for us.
We are sure that the IPB values, which lived here, will help you to continue free.

Being an IPB means knowing the value of friendship! We have no doubt that you will know, in your professional life, as in academia, to value friendship as a precious asset.
And friendship (love for others) is also respecting others, with their differences and their choices. We believe that friendship, which they appreciated so much at IPB, will be a value they will keep for life”, highlighted Orlando Rodrigues.

The president of the Academic Association, André Cordeiro, joked about the flooding of the Cathedral, which “starts to be small” for the students.
As for the Academic Week itself, André Cordeiro stressed that participation has been “quite considerable”.

“We opted for several different dynamics, with a more sustainable tent, where the groups recycle. In partnership with Residuos and the City Council, we offer a prize to those who recycle the most. We also introduced the reusable cup,” she explained.

The investment exceeds 300 thousand euros but the same person in charge expected more than ten thousand people to pass through the party venue, at NERBA, which is also starting to run out of demand. Therefore, he revealed to the Messenger that he is considering moving to another location, possibly resorting to erecting a giant tent.

The finalists’ mass itself may also change its costume and become an open-air event.