Pope Francis’ 8 principles for Catholic schools

The following homily was delivered by Archbishop Ivan Jurkovic, Apostolic Nuncio to Canada, at the Catholic Educators’ Congress in Vancouver on Feb. 16. It has been slightly edited.

What a joy it is for me to have this opportunity to spend a few days within this dynamic and growing Archdiocese of Vancouver, and to meet with Catholic educators from the schools across this province, to celebrate this Mass, and offer some reflections upon the vocation and mission of the Catholic school.

British Columbia is an important gateway through which thousands come to Canada from the world over to make a new life and a new home. Thank you for the attention and support that the dioceses of this province are offering to new Canadians, spiritually and materially. We see firsthand the splendid variety that made an earlier generation of Canadians describe the country not as a “melting pot” but as “a mosaic.” In parishes throughout the province, the event of Pentecost is renewed as people hear in their own tongue the good news of the Gospel! 

 Of course, with such growth, there are challenges and a great need for social relief and assistance, especially for those whose coming was the result of upheaval and displacement, poverty and persecution. The dioceses of this province have a major role to play in fulfilling the words of the Lord: “When I was a stranger, you welcomed me.”

Another important institution which, in turn, has an integral role in welcoming the stranger and coming to the assistance of those in need, is your Catholic education system. I commend all of you on the fact that there continues to be a close relationship between Catholic schools and the local Church, whether those schools operate on the parochial or regional level. The involvement of the bishops and clergy in guiding and fostering the Catholic schools of British Columbia will ensure the ecclesial mindedness of our Catholic teachers, school administrators, and support staff. I also acknowledge the parents who make great sacrifices to ensure their children receive a Catholic education, complementing by their own contributions the other sources of financial support – sources that allow those of limited means also to avail of such an education.

As you know, Pope Francis has spoken often regarding the value of Catholic schools and the importance they play in the mission of proclaiming what he so often calls “the joy of the Gospel.” By using this phrase, he reminds us that such a proclamation is more than the dissemination of information but a kind of contagion, that others may catch from our enthusiasm and dedication the transformative power of Jesus and his message!

In an address to those involved in the educational apostolate within his own religious community, the Society of Jesus, Pope Francis shared eight principles that he believed should characterize Jesuit schools. I think we can apply these to all Catholic Schools:

• that schools form hearts convinced of the mission for which they were created;
• that they are welcoming schools, in which one can heal one’s own wounds and those of others;
• that they are schools with doors that are really open, not only in words, where the poor can enter and where one can go out to meet the poor;
• that they do not retreat into a selfish elitism, but learn to live together with everyone, as places where fraternity is lived;
• that they teach their pupils to discern, to read the signs of the times, and to read their own lives as a gift to be grateful for and to share;
• That they have a critical attitude toward the models of development, production, and consumerism that are pushing inexorably toward inevitable harm;
• that they have a conscience and foster conscious awareness;
• that they are schools of disciples and missionaries.

All of this may seem a tall order, and while committed to such worthy and laudable objectives we may feel overwhelmed by what is expected of us. Therefore, it is also important to note that our Catholic schools must also be places of prayer, both personal and private, as well as public and liturgical. I am glad to know that many of your schools have at their heart a chapel where Mass is offered, where our sacramental Lord resides, and where all can turn for quiet, contemplation, and adoration.

Some years ago an author, writing about the urgent need for stronger moral formation of the young, noted that it is not simply about establishing rules and regulations. It is not a matter of running one’s family or school like a “boot camp,” but to have traditions and rituals. These too are also powerful and effective bearers of the moral tradition, capable of imparting sound moral values. Liturgical celebrations, the use of sacramentals (like the ashes of Wednesday past), and the encouragement of a sound piety, all have their way of imparting the truths of our Catholic faith and moral tradition. Furthermore, they impart the grace of God! They sanctify!

In the Gospel this morning, on this first Friday of the Lenten Season, Jesus warns that the time will come when his followers will fast. On other occasions, Jesus impressed upon those who drew near to hear him the centrality of repentance and the practice of penance. “Unless you repent, you too will perish.” A new translation puts it thus: “Unless you change your hearts and lives, you will perish.” To repent is to turn from sin and turn to God. We follow the example of the Lord, who, before he set out to begin his public ministry, withdrew to pray and fast for 40 days.

In his Lenten Message for 2024 entitled Through the Desert God Leads Us to Freedom, Pope Francis urges us to open our eyes to our own reality and the reality of those around us. Through the discipline of Lent he urges us to see what enslaves, and to reproduce in our own lives the journey of Exodus, from slavery to the freedom of the promised land.

Formed by our prayer and freed by our fasting, we are better able to see our own spiritual poverty as also the spiritual and material needs of those around us.

In the First Reading, speaking through the prophet, the Lord decries an external piety that does not translate into works of mercy: Is not this the fast I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?”

The benefit of such a fast as pleases God? “Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly … Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry for help, and he will say, Here I am.”

In a society of self-absorption, materialism, and consumerism, we recognize that we must learn detachment and, rather than an over-reliance on material comforts and pursuits, know the difference between having things and being had by them. Likewise, we must overcome avarice, a form of idolatry, where we love, inordinately, created things, putting them in the place where only the Creator should be. And then we can be more attentive to the needs of our neighbour.

We recall these words taken from two of the Lenten Prefaces:

For you will that our self-denial should give you thanks, humble our sinful pride, contribute to the feeding of the poor, and so help us imitate you in your kindness.

And again:

You have given your children a sacred time for the renewing and purifying of their hearts, that, freed from disordered affections, they may so deal with the things of this passing world as to hold rather to the things that eternally endure.

May you endeavour to provide for the students entrusted to your care a rewarding Lenten season.

In the name of our Holy Father Pope Francis, I am pleased to communicate his affection and his gratitude for all that you are doing, and I extend to you and to your school communities the Apostolic Blessing as a pledge of peace and joy in the Lord!

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