university founded in 1946, property of the archdiocese of Quito and managed by
Jesuit fathers, with 30,000 students currently enrolled.
 The Holy Father was greeted by the rector, Cesar Fabian Carrasco Castro, and
the bishop of Loja, Alfredo Jose Espinoza Mateus, president of the Episcopal
Commission for Education and Culture. This was followed by a prayer, composed
by
St. Miguel Febres Cordero F.S.C. (1854-1910), known as St. Hermano Miguel, and
a
passage from the Gospel of St. Luke, the parable of the sower, was read.
 In the discourse he subsequently pronounced, Francis expressed first his
gratitude for the encounter in a university "which for almost sixty years has
helped to further the Church's educational mission in service to the men and
women of this country", and went on to consider the theme of care for creation
and education as a seed for the transformation of society.
 "In the Gospel we have just heard, Jesus, the Master, teaches the crowds and
the small group of his disciples by accommodating himself to their ability to
understand. He does this with parables, like that of the sower. The Lord was
always flexible in His way of teaching. He does it in a way that everyone can
understand. Jesus does not seek to 'play the professor'", emphasised the Pope.
"Instead, He seeks to reach people's hearts, their understanding and their
lives, so that they may bear fruit. The parable of the sower speaks to us of
'cultivating'. It speaks of various kinds of soil, ways of sowing and bearing
fruit, and how they are all related. Ever since the time of Genesis, God has
quietly urged us to 'cultivate and care for the earth'. God does not only give
us life: he gives us the earth, he gives us all of creation. He does not only
give man a partner and endless possibilities: he also gives human beings a
task,
he gives them a mission. He invites them to be a part of his creative work and
he says: 'Cultivate it! I am giving you seeds, soil, water and sun. I am giving
you your hands and those of your brothers and sisters. There it is, it is
yours.
It is a gift, a present, an offering. It is not something that can be bought or
acquired. It precedes us and it will be there long after us. Our world is a
gift
given to us by God so that, with Him, we can make it our own. God did not will
creation for Himself, so He could see Himself reflected in it. On the contrary:
creation is a gift to be shared. It is the space that God gives us to build up
with one another, to build a 'we'. The world, history, all of time - this is
the
setting in which we build this 'we' with God, with others, with the earth. This
invitation is always present, more or less consciously in our life; it is
always
there".
 But, Francis observed, "there is something else which is special. As Genesis
recounts, after the word 'cultivate', another word immediately follows: 'care'.
Each explains the other. They go hand in hand. Those who do not cultivate do
not
care; those who do not care do not cultivate. We are not only invited to share
in the work of creation and to cultivate it, to make it grow and to develop it.
We are also invited to care for it, to protect it, to be its guardians.
Nowadays
we are increasingly aware of how important this is. It is no longer a mere
recommendation, but rather a requirement, 'because of the harm we have
inflicted
on [the earth] by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with which God
has endowed it. We have come to see ourselves as her lords and masters,
entitled
to plunder her at will. This is why the earth herself, burdened and laid waste,
is among the most abandoned and maltreated of our poor'".
 He continued, "There is a relationship between our life and that of mother
earth, between the way we live and the gift we have received from God. 'The
human environment and the natural environment deteriorate together; we cannot
adequately combat environmental degradation unless we attend to causes related
to human and social degradation'. Yet just as both can 'deteriorate', we can
also say that they can 'support one another and can be changed for the better'.
This reciprocal relationship can lead to openness, transformation, and life, or
to destruction and death. One thing is certain: we can no longer turn our backs
on reality, on our brothers and sisters, on mother earth. It is wrong to turn
aside from what is happening all around us, as if certain situations did not
exist or have nothing to do with our life. It is not lawful, much less human,
to
enter into the culture of waste. Again and again we sense the urgency of the
question which God put to Cain, 'Where is your brother?' But I wonder if our
answer continues to be: 'Am I my brother's keeper?'.
 "I live in Rome, where it is cold in winter. It can happen that just near the
Vatican in the morning an elderly person is found dead from the cold. There is
no news report in any of the daily or weekly newspapers. A poor person who dies
today of cold and hunger is not a news item, but if the stock markets of the
major world capitals drop two or three points, it is a great global scandal. I
ask myself: 'Where is your brother?' And I ask you to do this once again, each
of you, to ask this question, and to do so at the university. To you, Catholic
University, I ask: 'Where is your brother?'".
 He went on to invite those present to ask themselves whether it would be
worthwhile reflecting "on the way we educate about this earth of ours, which
cries out to heaven", within the university setting, as "our academic
institutions are seedbeds, places full of possibility, fertile soil which we
must care for, cultivate and protect. Fertile soil thirsting for life".
 "My question to you, as educators, is this: Do you watch over your students,
helping them to develop a critical sense, an open mind capable of caring for
today's world? A spirit capable of seeking new answers to the varied challenges
that society sets before us? Are you able to encourage them not to disregard
the
world around them? Does our life, with its uncertainties, mysteries and
questions, find a place in the university curriculum or different academic
activities? Do we enable and support a constructive debate which fosters
dialogue in the pursuit of a more humane world? One avenue of reflection
involves all of us, family, schools and teachers. How do we help our young
people not to see a university degree as synonymous with higher status, money
and social prestige. How can we help make their education a mark of greater
responsibility in the face of today's problems, the needs of the poor, concern
for the environment?"
 He continued, "I also have a question for you, dear students. You are
Ecuador's
present and future, the seedbed of your society's future growth. Do you realise
that this time of study is not only a right, but a privilege? How many of your
friends, known or unknown, would like to have a place in this house but, for
various reasons, do not? To what extent do our studies help us feel solidarity
with them?
 "Educational communities play an essential role in the enrichment of civic and
cultural life. It is not enough to analyse and describe reality: there is a
need
to shape environments of creative thinking, discussions which develop
alternatives to current problems, especially today. Faced with the
globalisation
of a technocratic paradigm which tends to believe that 'every increase in power
means an increase of progress itself, an advance in security, usefulness,
welfare and vigour; ... an assimilation of new values into the stream of
culture,
as if reality, goodness and truth automatically flow from technological and
economic power as such', it is urgent that we keep reflecting on and talking
about our current situation. We need to ask ourselves about the kind of culture
we want not only for ourselves, but for our children and our grandchildren. We
have received this earth as an inheritance, as a gift, in trust. We would do
well to ask ourselves: 'What kind of world do we want to leave behind? What
meaning or direction do we want to give to our lives? Why have we been put
here?
What is the purpose of our work and all our efforts?'".
 "Personal initiatives are always necessary and good", he remarked. "But we are
asked to go one step further: to start viewing reality in an organic and not
fragmented way, to ask about where we stand in relation to others, inasmuch as
'everything is interconnected'. As a university, as educational institutions,
as
teachers and students, life itself challenges us to answer this question: What
does this world need us for? Where is your brother?"
 The Pope concluded by invoking the inspiration and company of the Holy Spirit
"for He has summoned us, invited us, given us the opportunity and the duty to
offer the best of ourselves. He is the same Spirit Who on the first day of
creation moved over the waters, ready to transform them, ready to bestow life.
He is the same Spirit who gave the disciples the power of Pentecost. The Spirit
does not abandon us. He becomes one with us, so that we can encounter paths of
new life. May He, the Spirit, always be our teacher and our companion along the
way.

___________________________________________________________

 To the representatives of civil society: gratuity, solidarity and subsidiarity
are learned in the family and practised in society
 Vatican City, 8 July 2015 (VIS) - Shortly before 6 p.m. (local time) the Pope
arrived at the Church of St. Francis, which along with its adjacent convent,
constitutes the oldest Catholic religious building in Latin America. The site,
of great symbolic significance for the indigenous populations as the base of
the
Inca and Caranqui military commanders, was acquired by the Franciscans using
funds donated from Belgium. Construction began in 1536, the year of the
foundation of Quito, and was completed in 1680, although the complex was
subsequently extended and was nicknamed "El Escorial of the New World" for its
artistic and architectural wealth, extending over three and a half hectares of
buildings (13 cloisters, three churches, more than 3,500 colonial works of art
and a splendid Franciscan library). It currently hosts various cultural and
social activities as well as schools of painting, sculpture and engraving.
 The mayor of Quito, Mauricio Rodas, awaited the Holy Father at the main
entrance of the Church, in order to present him the keys to the city. Following
this simple act, without speeches, the guardian of the Franciscan community
welcomed Francis to the centre where he met with Ecuadorian civil society and
the representatives of various sectors including culture and the economy,
industrial and rural enterprise, voluntary work and sport. The indigenous
Amazon
peoples were well-represented.
 After receiving greetings from the archbishop of Cuenca, Luis Gerardo Cabrera
Herrera, president of the Commission for the Laity of the Episcopal Conference,
and listening to the words of three laypeople, the Pope pronounced a discourse
focusing on the importance of the family as the place where socially useful
values such as solidarity, gratuity and respect are learned.
 "As I entered this church, the Mayor of Quito gave me the keys to the city. So
I can say that here, in Saint Francis of Quito, I feel at home. His expression
of affectionate closeness, opening your doors to me, allows me to speak, in

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