THE NAME

First of all, our name is intended to recognize the role that the Queen played in the discovery of America. The Catholic Monarchs met with Christopher Columbus at the Monastery of Guadalupe between 1486 and 1489 to approve the financing of the voyage that would lead to the discovery of the New World. Christopher Columbus entrusted himself to the Virgin of Guadalupe to find a new way to the Indies and later returned to the Monastery to thank her for the discovery. After the conquest of Granada in 1492, the Catholic Monarchs retired to rest in the monastery of Guadalupe. This place was regarded so highly that the Queen wanted her will to be guarded by the monks of the Royal Monastery of Guadalupe.

Secondly, we also want to recognize the interest of the Queen during the subsequent process of evangelization of the New World in order to ensure a dignified treatment of the Amerindians. This, along with the importance of the invocation of the Virgin of Guadalupe in the evangelization of the New World, led to the Church declaring her the patroness saint of the Americas, and this veneration spread throughout the continent regardless of race, tradition or political, economic or social tendencies. This invocation symbolizes the deep bond that unites Spain and Latin America, with linguistic, cultural, social, economic and religious derivatives, and has great potential to help strengthen ties between the two regions in the 21st century.

Thirdly, we want to highlight the continuity between the evangelization project promoted by the Catholic Monarchs and the work carried out by the members of the School of Salamanca. This School, thanks to its contributions in the fields of international public law, economics and political science, became a powerful beacon that illuminated the transition from medieval to modern times. And such an impact on America would not have been possible without the Catholic Monarchs’ patronage of Christopher Columbus’ expeditions.

In summary: naming the School after Isabella I of Castile allows us to build on a solid foundation that profoundly unites the Hispanic American world and connects it with the rest of the world. It also allows us to propose people-oriented models of leadership that are also oriented to promoting the global common good. The Conference of Bishops published a document in 2022 that emphatically confirms that we can assume ownership in speaking of the global common good.[1]

[1] https://www.conferenciaepiscopal.es/presentacion-documento-sobre-persona-familia-y-sociedad/