Pope Leo signs an Apostolic Letter (@Vatican Media)
Pope signs Apostolic Letter marking sixtieth anniversary
of Gravissimum Educationis
Pope Leo XIV signs an Apostolic Letter to commemorate the
sixtieth anniversary of Gravissimum Educationis before presiding over Holy Mass
for the Jubilee of the World of Education.
By Francesca Merlo
Joining students of Pontifical Universities on Monday, as
part of the Jubilee of the World of Education, Pope Leo XIV signed an Apostolic
Letter, written to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of Gravissimum
Educationis, and to reflect on the current relevance of the Conciliar
Declaration and on the challenges that education has to face today, in
particular for Catholic schools and universities. The Letter will be made
public on Tuesday, 28 October.
Following the signing of the Document, the Pope presided
over Holy Mass in St Peter’s Basilica. In his homily, he recalled the deep
symbolism of the pilgrimage that marks the Jubilee: life makes sense only when
it is lived as a journey” he said. In his homily, he explained that crossing
the threshold of the Holy Door reminds us that faith, like life itself, is not
static. It is a continual “passing over”, from death to life, from slavery to
freedom, an experience of the Paschal Mystery that calls us to constant renewal
and hope.
A broader gaze
Turning his attention to students and scholars, Pope Leo
posed the question of what grace touches their lives most deeply, before
answering: “it is the grace of an overarching vision, a perspective
capable of grasping the horizon, of looking beyond..”
Reflecting on the reading from the Gospel of Luke
(13:10–17), in which Jesus heals a woman bent over for eighteen years, the Pope
compared the healing she received to the gift of knowledge. The woman’s
condition, he said, mirrors the state of spiritual and intellectual closure, an
inability to look beyond oneself. “When human beings are incapable of seeing
beyond themselves, beyond their own experiences, ideas and convictions, beyond
their own projects", he explained "then they remain imprisoned,
enslaved and incapable of forming mature judgements.”
True study, then, becomes an act of liberation. Just as
Christ raised the woman to stand upright, so too does learning lift the human
spirit, healing self-absorption and granting a wider vision - one that embraces
mystery, truth, and communion with others. “Those who study are “'lifted up',”
the Pope said, “broadening their horizons and perspectives in order to recover
a vision that does not look downward, but is capable of looking upward: toward
God, others and the mystery of life.”
Holy Mass for students of Pontifical Universities
(@Vatican Media)
The unity of faith
and reason
Pope Leo went on to lament that in the modern world, humanity
has become “experts in the smallest details of reality” yet struggles to
recover an overall vision - one that unites knowledge with meaning. Against
this fragmentation, he invited scholars to rediscover the harmony between
intellect and spirit, a unity embodied by saints such as Augustine, Thomas
Aquinas, Teresa of Ávila, and Edith Stein.
“The Church needs this unified perspective for both today
and tomorrow,” he continued, encouraging students and professors alike to
ensure that their academic work does not remain “an abstract intellectual
exercise,” but rather that it become a force that transforms life, deepens
faith, and strengthens witness to the Gospel.
Education as an act
of love
The Pope went on to describe the mission of educators as a
true work of mercy. Teaching, he said, is like the miracle in the Gospel, “for
the activity of the educator is to lift people up, helping them become
themselves and able to develop informed consciences and the capacity for
critical thinking.” Pontifical universities, he urged, must continue this
gesture of Jesus - one that embodies a “a form of charity expressed through
study.”
Feeding the hunger for truth, he continued, is not merely an
academic duty but a vital human task. "To feed the hunger for truth and
meaning is an essential task, since without them we would fall into emptiness
and even succumb to death", he said.
Holy Mass for Students of Pontifical Universities
(@Vatican Media)
A journey of
belonging and hope
Bringing his homily to a close, Pope Leo reminded those
present that the search for truth reveals not only knowledge but belonging.
Quoting the words of Saint Paul - “For you did not receive a spirit of slavery
to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption” (Rom
8:15) - he said that in study and research, each person can rediscover the
deepest truth of all: that we are not alone, but belong to a loving Father who
has a plan for our lives.
Finally, the Pope prayed that all those engaged in the
academic vocation may be “men and women who are never bent in on themselves but
always upright," carrying with them “the joy and consolation of the Gospel
wherever you go.”
Holy Mass for students of Pontifical Universities
(@VATICAN MEDIA)
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