On October 28, 2025, on the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of the conciliar declaration Gravissimum educationis On Christian education, Pope Leo XIV published his first apostolic letter. Entitled Drawing new maps of hope, This dense and luminous text is addressed first and foremost to teachers, educators and all those who are committed to transmitting not only knowledge, but also a meaning to life.
This letter is deeply rooted in the reality of contemporary Catholic schools: schools sometimes disoriented, fraught with tensions, caught between a crisis of vocations, administrative demands, and public scrutiny related to the handling of painful cases of abuse. In this context, Leo XIV does not simply reiterate principles; he opens a new horizon, inviting everyone to return to the very heart of the Christian educational project: the integral growth of the human person in all its dimensions—intellectual, relational, and spiritual.
The tone of Drawing new maps of hope is both firm and fraternal. The Pope affirms that "the Catholic school cannot be merely a place for the transmission of knowledge or social success." It must remain what it has always sought to be: a space for education in discernment, a training ground for inner freedom, a place where humanity opens itself to the light of God.
A call to rediscover "spiritual formation"«
One of the highlights of this apostolic letter is Pope Leo XIV's insistence on the spiritual formation educators themselves.
According to him, Catholic teachers can only guide young people on a path of faith, a quest for meaning and coherence in life, if they themselves nurture this spiritual dimension. He invites every teacher and educational leader to become a "guardian of a source": the one that connects faith lived daily to the transmission of knowledge.
Leo XIV writes with kindness but also with clear-sightedness: he knows how short on time teachers are, how absorbed they are by administrative challenges, lesson preparation, and the pressure of assessments and reforms. Yet, he also says that Christian education cannot take root without genuine spiritual renewal, both personal and communal.
He therefore argues that religious education and prayer should once again find their place in the life of schools. Not in an imposed way, but offered as a free and fruitful path.
In this context, the Pope refers to "houses of silence," places of retreat or listening found in many dioceses, where teachers and educators can come to reflect, examine their mission, and find renewed inspiration. He also encourages educational congregations and bishops to offer new continuing education initiatives that bring together theology, psychology, and spiritual pedagogy.
Catholic schools facing the challenges of French society
The apostolic letter does not shy away from the current tensions in the French educational landscape.
In recent years, Catholic education has been exposed to internal crises, amplified by investigations into sexual abuse in the Church.
Some voices are calling for greater transparency, or even a more "secular" status for private schools under contract.
In this delicate climate, Leo XIV chose a resolutely evangelical approach: he urged those involved in Catholic education not to withdraw out of fear, nor to dilute their Christian identity in an illusory neutrality. The Catholic school, he said, can and must remain fully open to all families, whatever their beliefs, while serenely bearing witness to the source from which it thrives.
This position is not new in the Church's tradition, but it takes on a particular force here. It aligns with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council, which affirmed that Christian education should not isolate but engage in dialogue: dialogue with the world, with science, culture, and human diversity.
For Leo XIV, the Catholic school must be the place par excellence for this fruitful dialogue, where faith and reason mutually enrich each other.
Returning to the human person, to childhood, and to the joy of learning
«"Refocusing Catholic education on the person and their spiritual dimension": this is the essential message of this letter.
Pope Leo XIV developed a positive and enlightening anthropology. He reminded us that all true education is an alliance between trust and hope. The Christian school, he said, is born from a gaze of faith upon the human person: a gaze that sees beyond academic results and performance, a gaze that believes in the promise inscribed within each child.
In a world saturated with assessments, quantified objectives, and constant comparisons, this vision appears almost subversive. It puts the joy of learning back at the heart of every educational act. "To help someone grow is to believe in them, to dare to tell them: you are capable of truth and beauty," wrote Leo XIV.
This text restores meaning to words that are often misused: support, vocation, responsibility, freedom.
Teachers, the first witnesses of hope
The apostolic letter emphasizes the irreplaceable role of teachers as witnesses.
Not only witnesses to their faith, but witnesses to a way of living knowledge and relationships. In classrooms, in playgrounds, through the joys and sorrows of daily life, each educator is a "little ark of hope," a place where young people can discover what it means to be loved, listened to, and valued.
Leo XIV pays tribute to the teachers who, often discreetly, continue to believe in the value of each student.
He also mentions the diversity of their backgrounds: some teach in prestigious high schools, others in rural areas or in troubled neighborhoods, but all share the same vocation to serve the growth of humanity.
This vision is rooted in a profoundly evangelical pedagogy. Instead of reducing teaching to a vertical transmission, the Pope speaks of "educational apprenticeship," where the educator learns at the same time as they teach. The school thus becomes a true learning community, a place where faith is lived in the living relationships between people.
Train the heart, not just the mind.
Leo XIV reminds us that the mission of Catholic schools is not only to transmit knowledge but also to form the heart.
He cites great Christian educators, from Don Bosco to Madeleine Daniélou, including the Brothers of the Christian Schools, to remind us that all authentic educational work is based on a concrete love for the student.
This love is not sentimental: it is expressed in patience, justice, consistency of actions, and the ability to provide structure. For the Pope, Christian education is always about "walking to meet the one who is coming.".
Therefore, there is no opposition between high standards and kindness, nor between faith and culture. A Catholic school does not renounce intellectual excellence; on the contrary, it places it within a broader perspective: that of service and the search for truth.
The spirituality of the teacher: a daily challenge
This aspect of the letter is particularly touching.
Leo XIV does not speak of ideal teachers, but of real women and men, sometimes tired, discouraged, confronted with difficult classes or contradictory injunctions.
To them, he sends a word of recognition and gratitude: "Thank you for your patience, which is an act of love," he writes.
These simple words are worth more than long speeches. They remind us of the vocational dimension of the teaching profession, often lost sight of in public debates.
In the same breath, he invites us not to be content with a fast-paced professional life, but to rediscover an inner life.
Without an inner life, the Pope said, the educational mission withers; with it, it becomes fruitful.
Hence the call to relearn simple prayer, silence, and contemplation of the mystery of childhood.
The school of dialogue and peace
Another major focus of the apostolic letter is openness to the world and interreligious dialogue.
Leo XIV insists on this: fidelity to the Gospel does not mean closure.
Because it is based on the dignity of every person, the Catholic school is called to be a place of welcome, respect and encounter between cultures.
In a world marked by fear and polarization, it can become a laboratory of fraternity.
The Pope echoes Pope Francis's insightful vision of a "global educational alliance": restoring to children and young people a taste for living together, justice, and care for creation. He makes this a priority for Catholic educators in the 21st century.
The letter concludes with a passionate appeal: to teach peace in schools. "Any education that does not foster peace prepares the ground for tomorrow's violence," asserts Leo XIV. Catholic schools, he says, must teach students to see others as brothers and sisters, to engage in dialogue before judging, and to forgive before condemning.
A pedagogy of hope
The common thread throughout the text is hope.
Leo XIV often uses the verb "to trace": to trace new maps, new paths. He calls for a pedagogy of hope embodied, patient, rooted in reality.
He describes this hope not as naive optimism but as an act of faith: believing that education can still transform hearts and, by doing so, humanize our society.
He concluded his letter with these words: "A child who learns to love the truth already opens a breach in the darkness of the world."«
These words sum up his project: to give new meaning and inspiration to the educational mission of the Church, through teachers who, every day, take the humble but decisive steps of hope.
The possible repercussions for Catholic education in France
The impact of Drawing new maps of hope promises to be concrete.
Already, several associations of teachers, school principals and school chaplains are welcoming a text that is both demanding and calming.
Some see it as a framework for rethinking initial teacher training: it would involve integrating the spiritual dimension more strongly into the curricula, but also valuing teamwork, pastoral support and shared educational responsibility.
Dioceses are considering launching lecture series to help teachers review their practice in light of this letter.
We also talk about local initiatives: days of prayer for teachers, educational retreats, educational meditation workshops.
These are all opportunities to rekindle an inner fire without which the Catholic school would be just another social structure.
A sustainable perspective: educating according to the Gospel
This text is part of the continuity of the great Christian educational tradition.
From the first medieval monasteries to contemporary schools, the Church has always sought to combine faith and culture.
But Leo XIV gave this mission a new impetus, adapted to the challenges of a secularized and fragmented world.
By asking teachers to remain open to spiritual and religious formation, he is not imposing an additional constraint on them: on the contrary, he is restoring their dignity as seekers of meaning.
In his view, each educator is an artisan of renewal, a sentinel of light in a time when darkness often tries to invade the heart of educational institutions.
A horizon of shared hope
Beyond the Church, this letter could more broadly affect the entire educational world.
It invites everyone to a fundamental reflection: what do we really want to pass on?
Pope Leo XIV posed the question in simple but essential terms: "Education does not consist in filling heads, but in awakening souls."«
And he does not reserve the responsibility for it to believers alone: it is a human mission before it is a religious one.
So, Drawing new maps of hope offers a universal vision: that of an education that fosters inner freedom, responsibility, and spiritual openness.
In this sense, the apostolic letter goes far beyond the walls of the Catholic school; it becomes a text of humanity, a message for all those who still believe that learning can save the world.
