As the 2024-2025 school year begins, Bishop James D. Conley of the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, has penned a pastoral letter that describes the value of Catholic schools and gives guidance on their further development. Titled “The Joy and Wonder of Catholic Education: Developing Authentically Catholic Schools,” it was published on the website of the Diocese of Lincoln.
History and conversion
The bishop began by reiterating the history of Catholic education within his diocese, which reaches back to the Civil War era. Even at their inception, Nebraska’s Catholic schools were open to boys and girls, Catholics and non-Catholics, and were largely attended by children of immigrants. He painted a picture of a whole community banding together in order to give their children all the advantages that a Catholic education can bring to their futures.
He further highlighted the value of a Catholic education by citing his own experiences attending Catholic school as a non-Catholic freshman. His experience, which he described as being “reborn in wonder,” would lead to his conversion to the Catholic faith in his junior year. Bishop Conley wrote:
“My liberal arts education lived up to its name, immersing students in truth, goodness, and beauty through poetry, history, music, philosophy, theology, art, architecture, and dance. This spurring of my imagination ultimately led to my conversion to the Catholic Church, which was hastened through my classmates’ friendship and our mutual love and desire for these three transcendentals.”
Five essential marks of a Catholic education
With that, the bishop jumped right into the heart of his pastoral letter, in which he explained the “five essential marks of a Catholic education.”
These five characteristics of a Catholic education are pivotal to its function and mission. They were established by Archbishop J. Michael Miller, the Vatican’s former Secretary for the Congregation for Catholic Education, who drew them from numerous papal and Vatican documents.
Inspired by a supernatural vision
The first essential mark of a Catholic education is that it must be “inspired by a supernatural vision.” A Catholic education is concerned with the formation of the whole person: “intellectually, morally, socially, and spiritually.” In a nod to the ancient Greeks, who believed that an education makes one free, a liberal education seeks to unshackle students and forge them to be independent thinkers.
Furthermore, a Catholic liberal education seeks to free the students to live the truth of being made in the image and likeness of God. In this way, Catholic schools prepare their students not just to take on jobs in their adult lives, but also to equip them to know, love, and live fully the Christian life.
Founded on Christian anthropology
Bishop Conley next stressed the importance that all Catholic educators “share directly in the mission of Jesus Christ, the Teacher.” He explained that the most common title for Jesus in the scriptures is the Hebrew “Rabboni,” meaning “teacher,” and he mused that few professions are as connected to the mission of Jesus Christ.
“As such, an authentically Catholic education is centered on the person of Jesus Christ. Catholic schools are not merely information delivery systems focused on secular success, but rather are about transformation in Christ. Our educational mission goes far beyond conveying factual knowledge of history, science, literature, or even of the faith; it begins and ends with students’ potential for holiness.”
Animated by communion and community
Explaining that Catholic education is an effort of an entire community, he pointed to the teachings of the Holy See on Catholic schools, which suggest that the spirit of cooperation (be it between educators and bishops, students and teachers, or the school and the community) is essential.
It takes a village to raise a child, as the old saying goes, but it is also important that the village should focus on “the True, the Good, and the Beautiful.” As such, the bishop directed his Catholic schools to make the Eucharist the center of their educational pursuits:
“Just as the Eucharist 'is the source and summit of the Christian life' (Lumen Gentium, 11), so the Eucharist must be the heart of every school. The opportunity for daily Mass and frequent confession should be part of the rhythm of life in a Catholic school.”
Imbued with a Catholic worldview throughout its curriculum
As the letter moved on, the bishop discussed what sets a Catholic education apart from other sectors. He noted that teaching students to view the world through a sacramental lens helps students develop critical thinking skills to connect with and integrate knowledge, to discern the ultimate meaning of the human person, and to understand how we fit into “the bigger picture.”
“Math and science and the other STEM subjects are privileged gateways into the divine order of things. Every subject bears the fingerprints of God, pointing to the beauty, joy, and wonder behind all reality. Whether that be the marvel of number, equation, order and sequence in mathematics, or salvation history, all reality is ‘charged with the grandeur of God.’”
He noted that advances to technology have led to us living in an “age of the image, the virtual, and the synthetic.” He warned of the influence that technology has on students and implored teachers to be deliberate and creative in their use of technology in order to present it as a tool: a means to an end, rather than an end in itself.
Sustained by Gospel witness
The final essential mark of a Catholic education is that it is “sustained by Gospel witness.” In this, Bishop Conley reiterated the importance that Catholic educators “live their faith” as an example to their students. He explained how crucial it was to hire educators who were dedicated to living the Christian values, as “nothing sours students to religion faster than hypocrisy.”
“Education is a form of friendship. In a genuinely Catholic school, teachers and administrators foster friendship through the hard work of love. They inspire, form, and lead students out of the virtual into the world of what’s real — to the true, good, and beautiful — where they can encounter and glorify the Lord.”
Bishop James Conley had far more insight to shed on Catholic education than can be covered in just one article. His pastoral letter is certainly worth a read for Catholic educators who wish to light a spark, or for parents who wish to have a better idea of what sets a Catholic education apart from its secular counterparts.
Read the full pastoral letter, “The Joy and Wonder of Catholic Education: Developing Authentically Catholic Schools,” at the website of the Diocese of Lincoln.
