SLU is not the huge buildings that rise above the campus. It is not even the consistently high student population that other schools find mind-boggling, for that implies a large-scale infrastructural support to keep. Behind all these clearly tangible things that make up SLU is a spiritual force that sustains SLU’s institutional impulse. It is the commitment to transform the lives of those who are most neglected and marginalized. For since its humble foundation in 1911, SLU has striven to live by the maxim “Non nobis solum nati sumus” (“We are not born for ourselves alone”), as the ancient Roman statesman and educator Cicero wisely formulates.

Transformation demands that we look into ourselves, into our relationships and see which aspects of our lives need to be improved and be made whole – again. The process of transformation is difficult for the simple reason that it requires personal courage and at the same time requires humility to accept that indeed we are not perfect, that we are broken, and that so many things have to be changed in our lives. May we at SLU help one another to heal each other’s brokenness and lead one another to the grace of transformation.