Studium Generale Marcianum

File:Venezia-punta della dogana.jpg and Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute. On the left of the Basilica, the building of the seminary, where the Studium Generale Marcianum has its headquarters.]]

Cardinal Angelo Scola, who had been appointed Patriarch of Venice in 2002 and been made a cardinal in October 2003, was the driving force behind the creation of the Marcianum. It was inaugurated on 24 April 2004 by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State of the Holy See, as the envoy of Pope John Paul II on this occasion. He particularly praised the creation of a faculty of canon law which he hoped would prove the "gem" of this "pedagogical-university complex".{{cite web | date = 24 April 2004 | access-date = 18 August 2022 | url = https://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/secretariat_state/2004/documents/rc_seg-st_20040424_sodano-venice_en.html | title = Inauguration of the 'Studium Generale Marcianum' in Venice | publisher = Secretariat of State of the Holy See }} The pope had sent a message to Scola that underlined the importance of that faculty as well.{{cite web | url = https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/messages/pont_messages/2003/documents/hf_jp-ii_mes_20031222_patriarch-venice.html | access-date = 18 August 2022 | date = 8 December 2003 | publisher = Libreria Editrice Vaticana | author = Pope John Paul II | title = Message of John Paul II to Cardinal Angelo Scola, Patriarch of Venice, for the Centenary of the Election of St Pius X to the Chair of Peter on the occasion of the Foundation of the St Pius X Institute of Canon Law }} Sandro Magister wrote of the center: "It has no equal in the world." He credited Scola's experience as an educator for conceiving it, praised its "the seamlessness of the educational system", and its mission as a bridge between civilizations.{{cite news | access-date = 18 August 2022 | url = http://chiesa.espresso.repubblica.it/articolo/1335835bdc4.html?eng=y | first = Sandro | last = Magister | date = 30 April 2004 | title = A New Silk Road Begins from Venice. It´s Called 'Marcianum' }}

Pope Benedict XVI visited the Marcianum library in May 2011 as part of a two-day trip to Venice.{{cite news | access-date = 18 August 2022 | url = https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/22496/pope-urges-venice-to-build-culture-rooted-in-the-gospel | date = 9 May 2011 | title = Pope urges Venice to build culture rooted in the Gospel | publisher = Catholic News Agency}}

Over the years the Marcianum required financial support from private entities, and this produced a crisis when, in June 2014, a widespread scandal involving financial irregularities and bribery related to the MOSE hydraulic project involved one of the Marcianum's principal sponsors. The new patriarch, Francesco Moraglia, who had succeeded Scola in 2012, used the occasion to review the Marcianum anew in light of the pressures it placed on Church finances and the way corporate support placed inevitable restraints on its freedom. In July he announced the entire complex would be dismantled, with provision made for students who needed to complete their degree programs and for the needs of displaced employees. He took this action after Scola declined to provide financial support and having coordinated his decision with officials of the Roman Curia and informed Pope Francis.{{cite interview|language = it |work =Gente Veneta|date=18 July 2014|title=Il Marcianum cambia rotta: il Patriarca spiega i motivi| url=http://www.genteveneta.it/public/articolo.php?id=7897| access-date = 17 August 2022 | url-status= dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319072920/http://www.genteveneta.it/public/articolo.php?id=7897|archive-date=19 March 2015}}{{cite web|work =La Stampa|date=19 July 2014|title=Venezia. La scure di Moraglia|first =Marco |language= it | access-date = 17 August 2022 | last=Tosatti| url-status= live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191207063807/https://www.lastampa.it/blogs/2014/07/19/news/venezia-la-scure-di-moraglia-1.37276190/amp/ | archive-date = 7 December 2019 | url=https://www.lastampa.it/blogs/2014/07/19/news/venezia-la-scure-di-moraglia-1.37276190/amp/}}{{cite news |title=Mose, mons. Moraglia chiude fondazione Marcianum. Con la benedizione del Papa|url=https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2014/07/19/mose-cardinale-scola-chiude-fondazione-marcianum-con-la-benedizione-del-papa/1065937/|first =Francesco Antonio | last=Grana|access-date = 17 August 2022 |language = it |work=Il Fatto Quotidiano|date=19 July 2014 | url-status= live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140722032848/https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2014/07/19/mose-cardinale-scola-chiude-fondazione-marcianum-con-la-benedizione-del-papa/1065937/ | archive-date = 22 July 2014}}

The Faculty of Canon Law St. Pius X, which actually opened in October 2003 in advance of the inauguration of the Marcianum, has operated since 2014 with financial support and cooperation from the dioceses of the Triveneto region.{{cite web | access-date = 18 August 2022 | url = http://fdcmarcianum.it/it/content/chi-siamo | website = San Pio X Facultà di Diritto Canonico | language = it | title = Chi siamo }}

The Marcianum Foundation continues to provide for cultural and scholarly programs devoted to the religious and cultural heritage of Venice.{{cite web | access-date = 18 August 2022 | url = https://www.marcianum.com/che-cose/ | language = it | website = Fondazione Marcianum | title = Che cos'è }} Over time it has come to focus on "deepening and enhancing the rich teaching of the Church's social doctrine".{{cite web | access-date = 18 August 2022 | url = https://www.marcianum.com/cosa-fa/ | language = it | website = Fondazione Marcianum | title = Cosa fa }}

Scola believes his enterprise had great significance and might have thrived if he had put the right longterm leader in place, someone not entirely dependent upon the patriarch.{{cite book | access-date = 18 August 2022 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=m_zsDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT288 | title = The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates | first =Edward | last =Pentin | date= 2020 | publisher = Sophia Institute Press }} He considers the Faculty of Canon Law important because it is the only one in northern Italy.{{cite book | access-date = 18 August 2022 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=X_yeDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT178 | title = Ho scommesso sulla libertà | first =Angelo | last = Scola |date= 2018 | language = it | publisher = Solferino}}

At its founding in 2004, its constituent bodies were:

• Giovanni Paolo I Foundation
• continues its work in child education as before the formation of the Marcianum
• Faculty of Canon Law San Pio X
• Institute of Advanced Studies in Religious Sciences "S. Lorenzo Giustiniani"
• [http://www.mastermega.it MEGA University Master in Ethical Business Management] (in collaborazione con Università Ca Foscari e la Scuola di Direzione Aziendale L. Bocconi di Milano)
• [http://asset.marcianum.it ASSET (School for Advanced Studies Society Economy Theology- Studies on the plural society)]
• Oasis International Foundation
• no longer associated with Marcianum, moved to Milan and continues to publish the journal Oasis{{cite web | url = https://www.oasiscenter.eu/en/about-us | access-date = 17 August 2022| website = Oasis International Foundation | title = About Us / Our Mission | date = 22 April 2022 }}
• [http://www.marcianum.it/content/studium-cattolico-veneziano Studium Cattolico Veneziano]
• Marcianum Press
• sold to Edizioni Studium of Rome on 15 December 2015{{cite web|work=Vatican Insider| date=15 December 2015|title=Editoria, Edizioni Studium acquisisce Marcianum Press. L'Editrice fondata da Giovanni Battista Montini nel 1927 rafforza la propria proposta sul mercato editoriale.| language = it | access-date = 17 August 2022 | url=https://www.lastampa.it/vatican-insider/it/2015/12/15/news/editoria-edizioni-studium-acquisisce-marcianum-press-1.35200196 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191205075024/https://www.lastampa.it/vatican-insider/it/2015/12/15/news/editoria-edizioni-studium-acquisisce-marcianum-press-1.35200196 | archive-date = 5 December 2019}}
• International Boarding School Giovanni XXIII

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Category:Education in Venice

Category:2004 establishments in Italy