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)
