On Wednesday, June 5, the posthumous volume by Joaquín Navarro-Valls, “My Years with John Paul II,” was presented in Milan at the Chateau Monfort hotel. The event was promoted by the Friends of the Bio-Medical Campus of Rome Association and the Biomedical University Foundation to pay tribute to Joaquín Navarro-Valls.
With more than 70 people in attendance, the presentation of the volume provided an opportunity to honor the memory of two “giants” of 20th-century history: Pope Saint John Paul II and his “spokesperson.” In particular, regarding Navarro-Valls, the event aimed to revisit his connection with the Bio-Medical Campus of Rome and the CasAmica ODV Foundation.
Among the attendees were Alessandro Pernigo and Laura Picalarga, serving as President and Secretary General of the Biomedical University Foundation, respectively.
Alessandro Pernigo recalled the period when Joaquín Navarro-Valls, after leaving his position at the Vatican Press Office, collaborated with the Bio-Medical Campus to promote internationalization and develop a network of knowledge and institutional contacts, including for fundraising purposes. He also mentioned
how fascinating it was to hear firsthand the various anecdotes recounted in the book.
Laura Picalarga highlighted how the Biomedical University Foundation keeps the memory of Navarro-Valls alive through the “Joaquín Navarro-Valls International Leadership and Benevolence Award,” now in its second edition, which will be held in Rome on Monday, July 8, 2024, at the Protomoteca Hall in the Capitol. This award aims to honor the memory of Joaquín Navarro-Valls by recognizing individuals who embody the values of leadership and benevolence. The award also seeks to contribute to the personal and professional development of young students through the “Scholarship Fund for the Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome” named after Joaquín Navarro-Valls, promoting and supporting talented and underprivileged students, ensuring the right to education and inclusion.
During the event, touching testimonies were shared by Marita Sechi, who had been Navarro-Valls’ assistant since he resigned as the Pope’s spokesperson and Director of the Vatican Press Office, and by Dr. Pierfilippo Crucitti, director of the UOC at the University Hospital Foundation. Dr. Crucitti remembered his father, known as the “Pope’s surgeon,” who operated on John Paul II four times, saving his life on May 13, 1981.
Lucia Vedani, Founder and President of CasAmica, concluded the event by recounting how Navarro-Valls, with great determination, wanted to involve her, along with her husband, engineer Vincenzo Vedani, and their family, in the creation of a hospitality house in Trigoria, near the Campus.
The testimonies were touching, moving, and at the same time, heartwarming. Professor Ruben Razzante, a journalist and professor of Information Law at the Catholic University of Milan, expertly led the event. At the end of the event, many heartfelt thanks were expressed by the audience.
