Pope Leo XIV recently gave an inspiring and informative address at the Catholic University of Central Africa in Yaoundé, Cameroon. The speech focused on the complementary roles of educators and students and the common vocation of all in the search for Truth. Let's explore the rich tapestry of Catholic education, what it looks like, and the fruits made possible by forming the whole person in Christ.
Seeking the Truth
The community provided by a classroom, school, or university is the atmosphere in which people journey together in the quest for Truth. In his address, the pope explained the need for such communities. He quoted his papal predecessor Francis in saying that these places of learning are where people encounter “the joy of the Truth” and appreciate “its meaning and practical implications.”
Extrapolating a point previously made by Benedict XVI, Pope Leo noted that logos (standing for Truth or, in the Gospel of John, for the Word of God – Jesus) leads to dia-logos, to dialogue with one another, showing that effective learning engages many voices.
Since its inception, the institution of the university has had Truth as its highest objective, Pope Leo continued. The modern university, he said, should remain “a privileged place of friendship, cooperation and, at the same time, of interiority and reflection.”
An Invitation to Study
Study helps foster introspection and the contemplation of the goodness of God. Knowing the Truth, realizing that the fullness of reality dwells within a Person, is the inaugural step in living fully and well. Knowledge precedes love; we must first know Jesus Christ so that we can then love him. Thus, an authentic, well-rounded education forms the entire person of the student, bringing him or her into relationship with the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.
There is merit in studying God's revelation and the theology surrounding the Good News. It's also meritorious to study the natural sciences. Pope Leo shared that faith positively influences science. For years, the Church has held that fides et ratio, faith and reason, go hand-in-hand. Pope St. John Paul II offers this image on the union of the two:
Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth; and God has placed in the human heart a desire to know the truth—in a word, to know himself—so that, by knowing and loving God, men and women may also come to the fullness of truth about themselves.
John Paul II believed science and faith were mutually beneficial, though faith entails a more direct encounter with the highest realities. With such a wealth of truth to feed on, study can challenge us, deepen our faith and appreciation of God's love and order in creation, and provide substantial apologetic arguments for our beliefs.
“There is no excuse for those who could be scholars and are not,” writes St. Josemaría Escrivá in his spiritual classic The Way. “Study – any professional development – is a serious obligation” (cf. no. 332 and 334). Especially when it comes to our Faith, we possess such a treasury of teachings and writings by and about the saints, that the opportunities for study are limitless!
St. John Henry Newman and the Importance of Love
All reality, every science and subject, can reveal something about the one who made us. In his speech to the faculty and students of the Catholic University of Central Africa, Pope Leo confirmed this when he quoted St. John Henry Newman from his book, The Idea of a University: “All true principles run over with God, all phenomena converge to him.”
The pontiff has repeatedly highlighted Newman's contributions to the field of education. In his apostolic letter, “Drawing New Maps of Hope,” he acclaimed several outstanding saints who were also educators but, in particular, Cardinal Newman whom he declared “co-patron of the Church’s educational mission together with Saint Thomas Aquinas.”
On All Saints Day 2025, the pope declared Newman the 38th Doctor of the Church. On this occasion, Pope Leo said, “At the heart of the educational journey we do not find abstract individuals but real people, especially those who seem to be underperforming according to the parameters of economies that exclude or even kill them. We are called to form people, so that they may shine like stars in their full dignity.”
This means the Catholic educator is fully present to his students, showing them the dignity that society so often fails to provide for them and desiring what is best for them. Teaching really is a ministry, not just a job. It is a role of service. It is an extension of the love and devotion of parents, the primary educators of the younger generations, and a share in that awesome responsibility.
Due to the significance of this role, perhaps the most important thing a teacher can do for his personal development is not building communication skills or curricula, but first and foremost is deepening his prayer life. In doing so, educators prepare themselves to share the Gospel and the Face of Christ more effectively. They can emanate the Faith authentically because it is truly their own. Both these developments, nurturing Faith in oneself and others, hinge upon the health of the interior life.
The Need for the Interior Life
The secular biographer Ron Chernow has commented that literature of lasting value will accurately reflect the human condition by endowing its characters with interior thoughts and considerations. Poor character interiority = poor literature. Similarly, poor spiritual interiority in a flesh-and-blood person results in a life lived poorly, which is far more tragic than sloppy fiction.
Every teacher inherently knows that someone cannot give what he does not have. This is acutely felt by students when an instructor is not passionate about the subject matter he teaches. If a teacher is to be an example of faith, he himself must really have it. Where there is no lively flame of faith, no new faith will be kindled in others. This is where the interior life comes in.
A robust interior life (which flourishes through mental prayer, through deep and intimate communication with Jesus) is the key to living righteously and performing works that are pleasing to God. It's also the best way we can attract those around us to Christ.
Pope Leo alluded to what's at stake in his address in Cameroon:
Through spiritual formation, the initiatives of campus pastoral ministry and moments of reflection, students are invited to deepen their interior life and to orient their engagement in society in the light of authentic and enduring values...
Dear professors, your role is essential. I therefore encourage you to embody the values you wish to impart — above all justice and fairness, integrity, a spirit of service, and a sense of responsibility.
Such wisdom echoes the lived experience of the Church down through the ages. In The Way, St. Josemaría Escrivá succinctly describes how to deepen the interior life which the pope refers to: “Withdraw into yourself. Seek God within you and listen to him” (no. 319).
In a significant book about laying the foundation for fruitful evangelization, The Soul of the Apostolate, Dom Jean-Baptiste Chautard wrote, “Our interior life ought to be the stem, filled with vigorous sap, of which our works are the flowers.” If we are to speak of God, lead others to God, do anything in the Name of God, we better be communing with God in prayer and especially through valid reception of the Holy Eucharist.
For educators devoted to preaching Christ, this is paramount. Fr. Chautard exclaimed with verve, “To transmit divine truths to the intellects of men! Is not this ministry worthy of angels?” Isn't that what angels do? They are the message-bearers of God's revelation to humanity. Catholic educators, theologians, and catechists do no less.
In response to such a calling, we must have a genuine, personal relationship with Jesus since that is the basis of faith. Then, just as the pope has said, we will embody the virtues which students need to see. The Faith will become living, contagious! Then those students will go out into the world, shining like stars with the light of Christ.
John Tuttle
John Tuttle is an editorial assistant at Midwest Theological Forum. He has worked as a diocesan communicator, teacher, and reporter. His writing has been published by Catholic World Report, The Wanderer, The Observer, Boone County Journal, Starting Points Journal, University Bookman, Jesuit Media Lab, VoegelinView, and other outlets. He and his family live in northern Illinois.
