The text signed last night in St Peter's Basilica was released on the 60th anniversary of the conciliar declaration Gravissimum Educationis. In it Leo XIV describes education as a "task of love," and “one of the highest expressions of Christian charity”. He calls for putting people at the centre, against "functional training." Catholic education must be "choral" and "human," capable of generating peace and “environmental responsibility”.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) – Yesterday afternoon, Pope Leo XIV, meeting with students and faculty of pontifical universities, signed the apostolic letter Drawing New Maps of Hope in St Peter's Basilica. The letter was released today, on the 60th anniversary of the conciliar declaration Gravissimum Educationis.

In it the pontiff writes that “We need an education that engages the mind, heart, and hands; new habits, community styles, virtuous practices."

The Vatican II declaration recognised education as an "inalienable right" of every person, "open to fraternal coexistence with other peoples, in order to guarantee true unity and true peace on earth." In his letter, Leo emphasises its "surprising persistence" in light of the "rapid changes" in the world.

The pope draws on Gravissimum educationis to reaffirm the value of education as a "task of love”. The conciliar declaration “reminded the Church that education is not an accessory activity, but forms the very fabric of evangelisation”, while giving rise to a "firmament of works and charisms.”

In the Proem, citing the Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi te, Leo notes that – faced with "millions of children" without access to primary schooling and the "educational emergency" caused by "wars," "migration," and "inequalities” – education represents a "form of hope" that the world needs. Education "is one of the highest expressions of Christian charity," he stresses.

The Holy Father goes on to trace the "dynamic history" of Catholic education, which is "a history of the Spirit at work”; beginning with the first centuries of Christianity, when it took the form of “parables and apophthegms”; while Saint Augustine defined a “real teacher" as someone who "awakens the desire for truth, educates freedom to read signs, and listens to the inner voice." Monasticism followed with its "silent work in the service of culture," up to the first universities of our day.

Leo XIV singles out, among others, the educational experiences of Saint Joseph Calasanz in serving the most vulnerable, and “courageous women” like Josephine Bakhita, Maria Montessori, Katharine Drexel, and Francesca Cabrini, who "opened doors for girls, migrants, and the most vulnerable."

Emphasising certain traits, the pope describes Christian education as a "choral work," in which the educating community is a "we”, as well as a "constellation," or a "living and plural network," with "parish schools and colleges, universities and higher institutes, vocational centres," and more.

“This 'we' prevents the water from stagnating in the swamp of 'it's always been done this way' and forces it to flow, to nourish, to irrigate," he writes.

“Catholic universities and schools are places where questions are not silenced, where doubt is not banished but supported. Here, heart dialogues with heart, and the method is that of listening, which recognises the other as a good, not a threat," he adds.

The letter Drawing New Maps of Hope underscores how knowledge must be “both intellectually responsible and rigorous and profoundly human.” And, as Gravissimum Educationis did, it reiterates that the family is "the first school of humanity”.

“Christian education embraces the whole person," Pope Leo XIV states. He warns against seeing education as "functional training or an economic tool," which reduce the person to a "profile of skills " or a "predictable algorithm” when in fact, every man and every woman is “a face, a story, a vocation”.

“Education does not measure its value solely on the basis of efficiency; it measures it on dignity, on justice, on the ability to serve the common good,” the pontiff reiterates.

Putting people at the centre means “educating with Abraham’s long-term vision," in order to "help people discover the meaning of life, inalienable dignity, and responsibility toward others."

In his apostolic letter, Leo, an American pope and a veteran missionary in Peru, also mentions his "beloved" Diocese of Chiclayo. "Education cannot be improvised," he writes.

Quoting his own words, spoken at the San Toribio de Mogrovejo Catholic University, addressing the academic community, he writes: "One is not born a professional; every university career is built step by step, book by book, year by year, sacrifice after sacrifice." He adds: "The Catholic school is an environment in which faith, culture, and life are intertwined."

Speaking further about Christian education, he describes it as a "choreography," echoing Pope Francis's words to university students, at the 2023 World Youth Day in Lisbon.

"Forming the 'whole' person means avoiding watertight compartments," Leo notes. At the heart of an educational style that "promotes respect" is also the "contemplation of Creation.”

“Forgetting our common humanity has generated fractures and violence; and when the Earth suffers, the poor suffer even more. Catholic education cannot remain silent," the pope insists. And “environmental responsibility is not limited to technical data.”

Peace, which "is not the absence of conflict”, also comes from education, “a gentle force that rejects violence. An 'unarmed and disarming' education for peace teaches us to lay down the weapons of aggressive words and judgmental gaze, to learn the language of mercy and reconciled justice.”

Finally, the pontiff once again cites the "season of trust" inaugurated by Gravissimum Educationis, which is measured by today’s digital challenges. “Technologies must serve people, not replace them," he writes. To inhabit new spaces, "pastoral creativity" is necessary.

The journey continues, accompanied by Pope Francis's Global Compact on Education.

"I ask all educational institutions to inaugurate a season that speaks to the hearts of the new generations, reconciling knowledge and meaning, competence and responsibility, faith and life," he writes.

This action must be guided by three “priorities”: inner life, “young people demand depth"; human-oriented digital training, “people before algorithms”; and unarmed and disarming peace, “teaching nonviolent discourses, reconciliation, bridges, not walls.”

• vatican
• pope leo xiv
• apostolic letter
• drawing new maps of hope
• gravissimum educationis