Rector's Letter For March 2026

31 march 2026

Dear students and colleagues,

“He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility.” (Eph 2:14)

As Easter approaches, these words of the Apostle Paul resonate with particular intensity. They do not sidestep the world’s divisions; they cut right through them. They do not deny the reality of these divisions; they acknowledge them and affirm that a work—less visible but more powerful—is underway.

At this time, our thoughts turn especially to those of you living in the Middle East, in Beirut, Jerusalem, Baghdad, and so many other places, such as Haiti, Sudan or the DRC, marked by violence and war. These lands carry within them histories where borders are not merely geographical, but internal, painfully etched into memories, from generation to generation.

In this context, speaking of peace may seem futile. And yet, the word remains: ‘He has broken down the dividing wall of hostility’.

Easter does not erase conflicts, nor does it ignore suffering or wounds. Easter creates a breach, an unexpected opening in what seemed closed. The resurrection does not immediately tear down walls; it opens a passage where everything seemed frozen. 

There is a task, most often carried out behind the scenes, which consists of not yielding to the logic of hatred. Of not reducing the other, or even the adversary, to an enemy. Of maintaining, in everyday actions, in intellectual work, in the faithful pursuit of truth, a space where unity remains conceivable.

This work, though discreet, is decisive.

To you who continue your commitment in challenging circumstances, your perseverance is a form of resistance to violence. It is part of that breach that Easter opens in history, and it is you in particular whom I wished, on behalf of our entire university community, to salute.

Dr Marie Monnet, OP
Rector of Domuni Universitas