Pope to educators: “Make schools laboratories of prophecy and hope”

On All Saints' Day, during the celebration in which he proclaimed St John Henry Newman a Doctor of the Church and co-patron of the world of education. 'Let us work together to free humanity from the darkness of nihilism that surrounds us. Let us form people in flesh and blood, especially those who seem to fall short of the parameters of an economy that excludes'.

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - ‘When I think of schools and universities, I think of them as laboratories of prophecy, where hope is lived and continually recounted and re-proposed. Current challenges may sometimes seem beyond our capabilities, but this is not the case. Let us not allow pessimism to defeat us.’

This is the message that Pope Leo XIV left this morning to the world of education in his homily during Mass, which concluded the Jubilee meeting that saw thousands of teachers and students converge on Rome from all over the world.

The celebration was made even more solemn by the gesture that the pontiff chose to make on this solemnity of All Saints: at the beginning of the liturgy, he solemnly conferred the title of Doctor of the Church on St John Henry Newman (1801-1890), a British theologian educated at Oxford University, formerly an Anglican priest who later became a Catholic priest and cardinal, a man of great culture and passion for the transmission of knowledge and faith.

By proclaiming him a Doctor of the Church on a par with the great figures who shaped Christian thought in antiquity, Leo XIV named him co-patron, together with St Thomas Aquinas, of all those involved in the educational process.

‘Newman's impressive cultural and spiritual stature,’ he said, ‘will serve as an inspiration to new generations with hearts thirsting for the infinite, ready to embark, through research and knowledge, on that journey which, as the ancients said, takes us per aspera ad astra, that is, through difficulties to the stars.’

In his homily, the pontiff emphasised the deep connection between education and hope, the theme of this jubilee year. ‘In the great field of education, you know well how hope is an indispensable seed,’ he said.

"And this is also the meaning of the Gospel of the Beatitudes proclaimed today. The Beatitudes bring with them a new interpretation of reality. They are the path and message of Jesus the educator. At first glance, it seems impossible to declare blessed the poor, those who hunger and thirst for justice, the persecuted or the peacemakers. But what seems inconceivable in the grammar of the world is filled with meaning and light in the proximity of the Kingdom of God."

Quoting Pope Francis, his successor pointed out to educators the task of ‘working together to free humanity from the darkness of nihilism that surrounds it, which is perhaps the most dangerous disease of contemporary culture, as it threatens to “erase” hope’. And, referring to one of St John Henry's best-known texts - the hymn Lead, kindly light - he also pointed to the style that Jesus, the only true teacher, suggests.

‘It is the task of education to offer this Kind Light to those who might otherwise remain imprisoned by the particularly insidious shadows of pessimism and fear,’ he explained.

"For this reason, I would like to say to you: let us disarm the false reasons for resignation and powerlessness, and let us spread the great reasons for hope in the contemporary world. Let us contemplate and point to constellations that transmit light and guidance in this present time, darkened by so many injustices and uncertainties. Therefore, I encourage you to make schools, universities and every educational reality, even informal and street-based ones, the thresholds of a civilisation of dialogue and peace.‘

’At the centre of educational paths,‘ he warned again, ’there must not be abstract individuals, but real people, especially those who seem to be underperforming according to the parameters of an economy that excludes and kills. We are called to form people so that they may shine like stars in their full dignity.‘

From a Christian perspective, education ’helps everyone to become saints," added the Pope, quoting some words spoken by Benedict XVI during his trip to Great Britain in September 2010, when he beatified Newman. ‘I pray that Catholic education will help everyone to discover their call to holiness,’ he concluded. ‘St Augustine, whom St John Henry Newman greatly admired, once said that we are fellow students who have only one Teacher, whose school is on earth and whose chair is in heaven.’