Lenten campaign 2026
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Catholic schools are a well established institution that are present in nearly every country in the world. Many of them have existed for hundreds of years and some claim they were founded over a thousand years ago.
This brings up the question, what was the first Catholic school to ever be established?
As with many things, it all depends on the definition of the word "school."
Jesus started the first school
A person could make the argument that Jesus was the first individual to start a Catholic school. The broadest definition of a school is, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, "an organization that provides instruction."
Jesus himself gathered around him a group of disciples whom he taught the basic tenants of the Catholic faith. He was the teacher and everyone who followed him were the students.
His disciples even called him, "Good Teacher," asking him a number of questions about the essence of the faith he was proposing (cf. Luke 18:18-20).
Schools in the early Church
After Jesus' death and resurrection, his apostles took seriously his command to "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations," and continued to teach others the good news of the Gospel (Matthew 28:19).
At times this included organizing groups of individuals for the purpose of instruction. This was especially necessary as there existed many pagan schools during this time period, as the Catholic Encyclopedia explains:
[Catechetical schools] flourished about the middle of the second century of the Christian era. They were brought into existence by the conflict of Christianity with pagan philosophy. They were, consequently, academies of higher learning...there were, almost from the beginning, schools attached to the household of the bishops (episcopal schools) where clerics were trained, We have reason to believe that in some instances, as in the catechetical school of Protogenes at Edessa (about 180), not only the higher branches but also the elementary branches were taught in the catechetical schools. Schools of this type became more numerous as time went on. In the Council of Vaison (529) the priests of Gaul are commanded to take boys into their household and teach them to read "the Psalms, and the Holy Scripture and to instruct them in the Law of God".
Monastic schools were instituted eventually and were led in many places by members of the Benedictine Order.
Among the first Catholic universities to be founded were the University of Bologna (1088) and the University of Paris (1150). From these schools many other Catholic schools developed, taking their model.
Over time Catholic schools became more institutionalized, but it should be recalled that Jesus is the true source of all Catholic schooling.
If we want to know what it means to be a Catholic school, we need to sit at his feet and learn from his example.
