Archbishop of Cologne, Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki, Meets Ateneo Scholars
His Eminence, Cardinal Rainer Woelki and two others from the Archdiocese of Cologne, Dr. Rudolf Solzbacher and Mr. Nadim K. Ammann, graciously spent time in the Loyola Schools last December 11 to meet and greet some 21 Cardinal Joseph Hoffner and Cardinal Joachim Meisner Scholarship recipients at the Ateneo Boardroom. The Scholarships were established in the Ateneo de Manila University on the occasion of separate conferments of an honorary degree to these esteemed Cardinals. 26 Cardinal Hoffner scholars have graduated since 1983 while 15 Cardinal Meisner scholars have graduated since 1991.
Dr. Jose Maria Edito K. Tirol, Director of the Office of Admission and Aid, delivered the Welcome Remarks, acknowledging Cardinal Hoffner and Cardinal Meisner’s generosity and partnership over the years. Ms. Karen Shih (AB Development Studies ’95), the first Cardinal Meisner Scholarship recipient, gave a message of gratitude on behalf of the scholars. Each of the twenty one scholars present during the Meet and Greet expressed how an Ateneo education, through the Cardinal Hoffner and Cardinal Meisner Scholarships, has transformed their lives, enabled them to pursue their dreams and to give back in their own various capacities. Filipino faculty and alumni scholar, Carlo Sanchez, was the afternoon’s emcee.
Cardinal Woelki, in his brief Address, encouraged the scholars to continue to make their little worlds better, to make a difference wherever God has put them and to widen their circle of influence. He stressed the continued importance of education which enables young men and women to participate and make an impact. The kind Cardinal also went around the room spreading Christmas cheer with special gifts from home.
These benefactors from Cologne and the scholars of Cardinal Hoffner and Cardinal Meisner all expressed immense joy and gratitude for a most meaningful afternoon spent together, looking forward to the next get-together.
Message of Gratitude to Cardinal Woelki by Karen S. Shih (AB Development Studies ’95)
Good afternoon Your Eminence Rainer Maria Cardinal Woelki, Dr. Rudolf Solzbacher, Mr. Nadim Ammann, Dr. Jo-Ed Tirol, Dr. Jumela Sarmiento, Ms. Jolly Morata, OAA Staff, my fellow alumni and scholars.
I am both honoured and humbled, to have been asked to deliver this response. Through the years, we have known that our Ateneo education was or is made possible through the generosity of the faithful of the Archdiocese of Cologne. We are reminded, especially around Christmastime, to always be thankful of our blessings, and what a delight it is, to be face-to-face with our benefactors, with none other than the Cardinal of Cologne, and his officials.
For many of us here, when we were freshmen, the Ateneo that we entered was a different world. Aside from stretching our academic limits, it also opened many opportunities for self-improvement, for social involvement and for doing good, in general. These things, one can also have in other universities. The difference, and advantage one has in Ateneo, however, is the conscious effort to form students into competent persons who have the capacity to discern and act as God-fearing individuals, who will hopefully invest their resources into service.
The Ateneo did not isolate us into sheltered, naïve persons. On the contrary, it is also within its walls, and in the apostolate areas that we were encouraged to be involved in, that we learnt of how difficult life was. As we grew into awareness, we found out that whether deliberately or otherwise, our families might hurt us. Our friends could hurt us. Institutions will hurt us. Even the Church will hurt us. But that should not be enough to turn us against them. We have to be more courageous and open our hearts more to love. We have to exert more effort into changing what is hurtful into what will heal and what will make everyone grow.
In the next statements, I speak for myself. For the past five to seven years, I have worked full-time with my Archdiocese. When people get to know my background, they ask why I work there when I can earn more. My answer is simple: we demand much from our Church. It is high time we also contributed to meeting those demands. We want a Church that is responsive – we have to work for it.
That is what the Ateneo taught me, what it taught us – to love and give of oneself. This is the path towards happiness. And if you look at the faces of many of us here, we see that Ateneo has helped us live fully – to lead happy lives.
Your Eminence, this is your gift to us. Through our Ateneo education, you have made us better persons. We are more able to contribute to our communities, to our country, and to our Church.
Thank you very much for the gift of life.
