In a video message to participants in a conference at an Augustinian school in Madrid, Pope Leo XIV said that Christian identity is at the heart of Catholic education.
“As happens to sailors, if you lose sight of the North Star, it is not uncommon for the ship to drift,” Pope Leo said. “For Christian education, the compass is Christ. Without its light, the educational mission itself is emptied of meaning.”
Christian identity “is the foundation that articulates the educational mission, defines its horizon of meaning and guides its daily practices,” the Pope continued. “When identity does not inform pedagogical decisions, it runs the risk of becoming a superficial ornament that fails to sustain educational work in the face of the many cultural, ethical and social tensions that characterize our times of polarization and violence.”