In his recent letter, “Drawing New Maps of Hope,” Pope Leo XIV offers us a timely and evocative articulation of the Church’s educational mission. The Holy Father reminds us that “education is not an ancillary activity, but … is the concrete way in which the Gospel becomes an educational gesture, a relationship, a culture. Today, in the face of rapid change and disorienting uncertainties, that legacy is showing surprising resilience.”
I believe the Holy Father is speaking directly to our University. In an educational landscape the pope calls “complex, fragmented, digitized,” keeping the human person at the center of our vision ensures that the intellectual and professional training we offer aims at higher purposes than simply what the market demands.
And what is this vision of the person? In brief: humans are body and soul; we have an infinite thirst for knowledge, love, justice, beauty, goodness — a thirst that cannot be wholly satisfied this side of eternity; we are made for communion. Education built on this foundation has the power to continually renew the larger culture.
You will see in these pages numerous examples of the vitality of this transcendent vision: in the Columbus School of Law’s distinctive offerings and growing success; in the support and mentorship offered to students by our Campus Ministry and Student Engagement offices; in the beauty pursued by researchers and faculty across the entire gamut of disciplines; and in the personal stories of alumni and students learning, working, and serving around the world.
As we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our nation’s founding, we should recall Pope Leo XIII’s founding mandate to our University: “give to the Republic her best citizens” — a charge that has lost none of its urgency. Pope Leo XIV reminds us that our mission is nothing less than “helping [students] discover the meaning of life, their inalienable dignity, and their responsibility towards others.” By the grace of God, this is the culture we are building on our campus every day.
Peter Kilpatrick, President
The Catholic University of America
