VATICAN, Aug. 31 (CWNews.com)

    In celebration of the Jubilee for universities, Pope John Paul II will present a mosaic icon to the Catholic universities of the world, to be circulated among the dioceses where Catholic universities are established.

    The icon will begin its "pilgrimage" around the world during the week of September 3- 10, as the Vatican observes the Jubilee of universities. The first stop on the tour will be Athens, because of the special role of that city as a "place for the meeting between the Gospel and ancient culture," as organizers explained. The next stop will be Moscow, on September 17.

    The icon, entitled Sedes Sapientiae (Seat of Wisdom), depicts the Virgin Mary seated with the child Jesus in her lap. It is the work of Father Marko Ivan Rupnik, a Slovenian Jesuit who specializes in mosaics. Father Rupnik recently supervised the restoration of the chapel in the Pope's residence, which opened in November 1999 after three years of work. That chapel emphasizes the Eastern iconographic tradition, in accordance with the Pope's wish to give prominence to the Eastern religious tradition as a way of helping the Church to "breathe with both lungs."

    The Vatican is expecting 10,000 participants to gather in Rome for the Jubilee for universities. There will be simultaneous observances in the Holy Land, in Lebanon, and in several Italian cities outside Rome. The central focus of the Jubilee is the effort to create a "new humanism" through the dialogue between faith and reason.

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