Mission
As a movement of Catholic students, IMCS’s main mission is the evangelization of student circles. We encourage students to live their faith by becoming involved in solving local problems locally, nationally and internationally. The role of the international team is focused around four main axes:
- Holistic training and theological reflections with members.
- Coordination and support of regional and local structures.
- Advocacy within international bodies.
- Specific social projects.
Core Identity
The commencement of IMCS can be traced back past our “official” founding in 1921 in Fribourg, Switzerland, to the late 19th Century with the International Union of Catholic Students. In 1921, a diverse group of existing national federations of Catholic university students from Europe, Argentina, Java (Indonesia), and the United States, founded IMCS with the name of Pax Romana, to express their desire to build peace and solidarity in a world torn apart by war.
At the heart of our constituency is each student rom across the world who is a member. Students’ life and education are inseparable. We are from various fields of study, coming together with our ideas and experiences to work together for peace and justice. IMCS is concerned with the students’ development and the role education plays in their lives. Essentially, all our activities and projects aim to train, encourage them to participate and become innovative solution providers.
IMCS is not only a Church Movement but is “Church in the Movement”. We are recognized by the Secretariat of State of the Holy See (Vatican) and the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life. “Your Movement received official recognition by the Holy See in 1921, and I am pleased that you have maintained your spirituality of action and fulfilled your mission of addressing the spiritual and material needs of young people in tertiary educational institutions throughout the world” Pope Francis, Letter to Pax Romana, 2022
• The international dimension of our Movement offers us a chance to promote solidarity, share our vision and undertake a common action;
• IMCS believes that it is through this dialogue between cultures and people that we understand the universality of the Gospel to help us build peace in the world;
• We support our members to develop a global perspective of their realities and to enable them to have a voice and impact in the international community.