Pope Signs Apostolic Letter Marking Sixtieth Anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis

Vatican City, 28 October, 2025 — Pope Leo XIV celebrated Mass at St Peter’s Basilica for the Jubilee of the World of Education, addressing students, professors and academic leaders of Pontifical and Catholic universities and institutions worldwide, and urging them to reimagine education as a mission of truth, freedom and service to humanity.

In his homily, the Pope affirmed that genuine education is not merely about transmitting information but about forming consciences, cultivating wisdom and shaping people capable of building peace and fraternity. He invited educators to resist every form of elitism and ideological manipulation, insisting that Catholic education must always be inclusive, dialogical and faithful to the Gospel.

Following the Mass, Pope Leo released a new Apostolic Letter on education, encouraging Catholic academic institutions to be places where faith and reason meet, and where students are led to encounter Christ through intellectual honesty, pastoral closeness and service to the poor. He stressed that universities must not become self-referential institutions but missionary communities at the service of the Church and society, attentive to today’s cultural and digital changes.

The celebration formed part of the Jubilee events dedicated to the world of education, gathering representatives from Pontifical universities, seminaries, Catholic schools and ecclesial academic networks from across the globe. The Pope prayed that teachers may be witnesses more than instructors, and students seekers of truth more than consumers of knowledge.

He concluded by entrusting the mission of Catholic education to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Seat of Wisdom, and encouraged all educators and students to become “builders of a more human, just and hope-filled world.”

Source and Image Credits : Vatican News

Download Catholic Connect App for Daily News Updates: 

Android: Click here to download

iOS: Click here to download