I’m not sure how many people were anxious to get back to school after the Christmas break, but I remember as a kid looking forward to returning to school in early January. There was the excitement of getting to see friends you didn’t see over the holidays and wearing the new clothes you got for Christmas. You may have even gotten to show off a new toy or gadget if mom and dad let you.
January 2021 is a little different. Parents, and even most students, are glad to be able to go to school at all in these pandemic restrictive times. Some Canadians haven’t had the luxury of returning to in-person classes. For homeschooling families, field trips aren’t an option anymore and being forced to be at home most of the time may take some of the shine off of choosing to educate at home.
The upside is that, perhaps, education is something we don’t take for granted anymore. It used to be a given that most children would head out the door to school most weekday mornings between September to June, but now, not so much. Education is fragile, like most other amenities we used to take for granted. We now know, keenly, that many of the routine parts of our lives – like going to Mass, health-care appointments, and even school – can change overnight. It’s a good time to acknowledge how the Church has played, and continues to play, a major part in this great gift of education.
Looking at the liturgical calendar of saints’ days in January, there are some key saints this month that highlight both the importance of the Church’s role in the world of education and the saints’ particular contributions in the field. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Jan. 4; St. John Neumann, Jan. 5; St. Paul, Jan. 25; St. Angela Merici, Jan. 27; St. Thomas Aquinas, Jan. 28; and St. John Bosco, Jan. 31, are some of the best educators in the history of the Church. A quick peruse through the January calendar on CatholicSaints.info offers a great summation on the work of these great women and men:
St. Elizabeth Ann Seton founded the religious order of the Sisters of Charity in 1809, mostly as a response to her successful Catholic schools. She began her career in Catholic education by founding a school in Boston, largely to support herself and her five children after her husband died. She was invited by Church authorities to expand her schools, which formed the base for the parochial school system in the United States and led to the founding of the first American congregation of sisters.
Though German-born, St. John Neumann is considered the first canonized American. He valued education from a young age, learning 12 languages and studying not only theology, but also astronomy and botany. After arriving in New York in 1836, he immediately went to work in the rural part of the state and sought out the people who needed the most help, often providing them with education so they could better their circumstances. By the time he died in 1860, St. John was responsible for opening more than 100 schools.
So much could be said about St. Paul! Where would we be in our understanding of the faith without him and his many epistles? After his dramatic conversion from persecutor of Christians, St. Paul made it his life’s mission to educate people about Christ and Christianity. He was responsible (by the grace of God) for the conversion of thousands of early Christians, who built up the early Church.
St. Angela Merici was born near Brescia, Italy, in 1535. She dedicated most of her life to educating young girls. She eventually founded the order of Ursuline Sisters, who went on to establish schools for girls all over the world. The Ursulines had a profound impact on educating girls in Canada. Three Ursulines arrived in Quebec in 1639, one of whom was St. Marie of the Incarnation. They worked with few resources and in harsh conditions to establish schools in Quebec and Ontario, and eventually spreading into the United States. At a time when the education of females was not a priority for many, the Ursulines filled a gap that especially helped underprivileged girls better their lives. One of their most famous students was St. Marguerite d’Youville, who went on to found the Grey Nuns in Montreal in 1737.
St. Thomas Aquinas may be the most famous Catholic name in education. With his work in theology and philosophy, this medieval Dominican monk from Naples, Italy, revolutionized the way those subjects were taught. His brilliant mind helped explain Scripture, God, morality, existence, natural law, and gave us Catholic hymns and prayers still used today. His Summa Theologica is considered the gold standard of Catholic apologetics and theology and is studied throughout the world. Take a peek at the footnotes in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and see how many references there are to the work of St. Thomas! Despite his supreme intelligence and incredible contribution to the study of the faith, St. Thomas remained a man of prayer above all and even abandoned his work on the Summa after experiencing a divine revelation saying that his works “were so much straw in the wind compared to the divine glory.” He died four months later in 1274, at age 49.
Known as the “Apostle to Youth,” St. John Bosco was born in Piedmont, Italy, in 1815. He was a natural-born teacher. As a boy he would perform magic tricks and gather crowds of other boys around him, then repeat the homily he had heard at Mass. He was always looking for ways to teach children about the faith, especially orphans or poor boys. He founded the Salesians of Don Bosco in 1859, with the purpose of educating boys. St. John’s legacy is still going strong, including operation of schools and parishes, such as Our Lady of Good Counsel in Surrey, B.C.
In an age when parochial schools are on the decline and less schools are run by religious, it’s easy to forget the immense impact the Church has had on education in this world. And sometimes, whether it’s due to serious misdeeds by some clergy and religious over the years or increasing secularism, the world would like us to forget this great legacy. The work of so many holy men and women, like the saints mentioned above, are worthy of our contemplation and gratitude. On their feast days we should get to know and share their stories. It’s up to us to educate the world about these saintly educators, who were pioneers in their fields and brought (and still bring!) countless souls to Christ.
Lazzuri writes from her home in Nova Scotia, where she lives with her husband, six children, and her mom.