Faculty of Theology of Palermo: Archbishop Fisichella Remembers Crispino Valenziano and Beauty as a Path to Evangelization

Palermo, 16 October 2026 – On the occasion of the inauguration of the new Academic Year at the Faculty of Theology of Palermo, H.E. Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, delivered the lectio academica, recalling the figure and intellectual legacy of Crispino Valenziano.

Reflecting on some fundamental aspects of the Sicilian theologian’s thought, Archbishop Fisichella highlighted the originality of his cultural project, rooted in a unified vision of the human and the divine, in which the mystery of the Incarnation becomes the interpretative key to theology, liturgy, and culture.

Particular attention was devoted to Valenziano’s reflections on liturgical time and sacred space, understood as places where the mystery of salvation becomes present and visible. This led to an emphasis on the via pulchritudinis, the way of beauty, as an essential dimension of faith and a privileged path for evangelization in the contemporary world.