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Antonio Allende, SJ, new Rector of the Universidad Pontificia Comillas

4 September 2024
  • Allende has extensive experience in the governance and direction of different apostolic works of the Society of Jesus. Since 2015 he has been the Delegate for Education of the Province of Spain.
  • The event was presided over by the Superior General of the Society of Jesus and Grand Chancellor of the University, Arturo Sosa, SJ, and attended by the Provincial of Spain of the Society of Jesus and
     Vice-Chancellor of the University, Enric Puiggròs, SJ,
     and José Cobo Cano, Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid.
  • Research, training, transfer, service to society and the Church, and identity and mission will be the lines of work that will guide the university, according to Allende.

Madrid, 4-9-2024 - The Universidad Pontificia Comillas celebrated the appointment as Rector of Antonio Allende, SJ, in a ceremony presided over by the Superior General of the Society of Jesus and Grand Chancellor of the University, Arturo Sosa Abascal, SJ. Also in attendance were the Provincial of Spain and vice-chancellor of the university, Enric Puiggròs, SJ; José Cobo Cano, Cardinal Archbishop of Madrid, and the outgoing rector, Enrique Sanz, SJ.

Allende said he was "entrusted with the task of caring for and sustaining a thriving, lively, consolidated institution of proven quality that has served society and the Church for 120 years". The new rector recalled that "the Society of Jesus has found in the university a formidable space to put into practice the mission it has received to promote social justice and ecological sustainability through dialogue with cultures and religions".

He also thanked the outgoing Rector "who throughout his years of service in this house has tirelessly contributed, with his work and vision to make Comillas a leading university in Spain, and very well recognised internationally". In this sense, research, training, transfer, service to society and the Church, or identity and mission, will be the lines of work that will guide the university. He also listed some of the future challenges: the attraction and retention of national and international talent, the increase of the university offer in Madrid, the firm commitment to entrepreneurship and the challenge posed by the arrival of Artificial Intelligence: "The university can and must accompany the teaching staff, the administrative and services staff and the students in their interaction with AI. There are technical, ethical, legal and social issues that require rigorous responses from us, to use it and to train ourselves and others in its use," he said.

A powerful university network

After praising the work and dedication of the outgoing rector and thanking Allende for his willingness to take on this challenge and put his leadership skills at the service of a complex and challenging apostolic institution, Arturo Sosa, SJ, reflected on the identity of the universities entrusted to the Society of Jesus. "The institution and mission of the university is no other than understanding it as an apostolate. Throughout history, we see how the Universidad Pontificia Comillas has been thought of not only as a centre of high academic quality and prestige, but also as a true apostolate that wants to carry forward the mission of the Society of Jesus".

Sosa also pointed out that the university mission today requires each institution "to be active and constructive actors in the creation of networks in the different areas of the life of the Society of Jesus (UNIJES, Kircher Network, IAJU, as well as intersectoral networks...). The commitment to networking today is not a luxury or a waste of generosity, but a response to the reality we want to transform," he said.

Antonio Allende, SJ, holds a PhD in English Philology from the Universidad de Salamanca, studied Philosophy at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas and graduated in Theology from the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley (now School of Theology, University of Santa Clara) in California. He was director of the Jesuit school in La Coruña, and director of the Instituto Padres y Maestros and the magazine under the same name, currently published by Comillas. He has been director and CEO of the Grupo Comunicación Loyola and member of the editorial board of the journal of pastoral theology "Sal Terrae" since 2010. In 2015 he was appointed Delegate for Education of the Province of Spain, from where he coordinates the operation of the 69 educational centres that the Society of Jesus runs in the country. He has been collaborating in the Master's Degree in Ignatian Spirituality at Comillas since 2018 and has been teaching "Christianity and Social Doctrine" since 2022.


Juan Manuel Daganzo

+34 679 311 276 - +34 915 422 800 ext. 2475 
jdaganzo@comillas.edu