VERITAS, UNITAS, CARITAS
The core values of the Catholic, Augustinian tradition which make Villanova University unique and distinctive in our world are emblazoned on the Seal of the University:
VERITAS: TRUTH
The pursuit of truth necessitates a commitment to the building of a community that enables the flourishing of all peoples and all creation. We share the search together, aware that we all have something to contribute, and we can all benefit from being involved, sharing generously the fruits of our search. Villanova seeks to create ways of enrichening the lives of our own community and the peoples of the world, nurturing not only the whole person but also all of creation, spurring growth in knowledge, love and commitment for the creation of a sustainable world wherein all creation will flourish.
"Let us equally give our attention with peaceful minds to the nature of the truth, which is neither yours nor mine but set before both of us for our contemplation." - St. Augustine, Letter to Secundinus, 2
UNITAS: UNITY
We celebrate the unity between the Creator and creation, made manifest in the interdependence and interrelationship of all. We grow together, each the fruit of the communities that have formed us. As a Catholic community we value the building of community within the University but also in ever expanding concentric circles reaching out to the world community: we have something to offer and desire to work in partnership with others, for the benefit of all people and of all creation. And so we anticipate – and strive to give witness to – the fullness of communion when the holiness of creation will be restored in peace and justice.
"Signs of friendship sprang from the hearts of friends who loved and knew their love returned, signs to be read in smiles, words, glances and a thousand gracious gestures. So were sparks kindled and our minds were fused inseparably out of many becoming one." - St. Augustine, Confessions IV
CARITAS: LOVE
Loyalty to the common good signifies a commitment to the well-being of others – a sense of solidarity with all people, but also with all of creation, particularly taking into account those people and things considered least, worth less. We actively seek to view the world and all of creation from the perspective of those who have been left out, marginalized and discriminated against. Our willingness to sacrifice our personal good on behalf of the common good is how we strive to integrate the ethical dimension of life in all of our activity as a University.
"Whenever you show greater concern for the common good than for your own, you may know that you are growing in charity." -St. Augustine, Rule, Ch. 5
As a Catholic, Augustinian University, Villanova values the sacredness of all creation, striving to follow Christ in an Augustinian fashion: in a personal, ongoing relationship and process of conversion. That is to say, always “on the way”, never fully arrived, walking in the footsteps of Augustine, informed and enhanced by his personal and communal experience. That ongoing relationship and conversion process is what can speak to us across the centuries to help us better understand how a follower of Christ can interpret the world in which we live.
