In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

Peace be with you!

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

I am very pleased to meet you, educators who have come from all over the world and work at every level from elementary schools to universities.

As we know, the Church is both Mother and Teacher (cf. Saint John XXIII, Encyclical Letter Mater et Magistra, 15 May 1961, 1), and you contribute to personifying her face for many pupils and students by dedicating yourselves to their education.  Thanks to the luminous array of charisms, methodologies, pedagogies and experiences that you offer, and your “polyphonic” involvement in the Church, in Dioceses, in Congregations, Religious Institutes, Associations and Movements, you guarantee millions of young people a proper formation, always keeping the good of the person at the center of the transmission of humanistic and scientific knowledge.

I too have been a teacher in the educational institutions of the Order of Saint Augustine. I would like, therefore, to share my experience with you by focusing on four aspects of the doctrine of the Doctor Gratiae that I consider fundamental to Christian education: interiority, unity, love and joy.  These are the principles that I would like to become the key elements of our journey together, making this meeting the beginning of a shared path of mutual growth and enrichment.

In regard to the aspect of interiority, Saint Augustine says that “the sound of our words strikes the ears, the Master is within” (In Epistolam Ioannis ad Parthos Tractatus 3,13), and he adds: “Those whom the Spirit does not teach interiorly depart without having learned anything” (ibid.).  He thus reminds us that it is a mistake to think that beautiful words or good classrooms, laboratories and libraries are enough to teach. These are only means and physical spaces, certainly useful, but the Teacher is within.  Truth does not spread through sounds, walls and corridors, but in the profound encounter between people, without which any educational endeavor is doomed to fail.

We live in a world dominated by technological screens and filters that are often superficial, whereas students need help to get in touch with their inner selves.  And not only them, but educators too, who are often tired and overburdened with bureaucratic tasks, run the real risk of forgetting what Saint John Henry Newman summed up in the expression: cor ad cor loquitur (“heart speaks unto heart”) and what Saint Augustine said: “Do not look without, return to yourself, for truth dwells within you” (De Vera Religione, 39, 72). These words invite us to view formation as a path that teachers and pupils walk together (cf. Saint John Paul II, Apostolic Constitution Ex Corde Ecclesiae, 15 August 1990, 1). They are aware that they are not searching in vain, and at the same time know that they must continue searching even after having made discoveries. Only this humble and shared effort – which in school contexts takes the form of an educational project – can bring students and teachers closer to the truth.

This brings us to the second word: unity. As you may know, my motto is: In illo uno unum. This is also an Augustinian expression (cf. Ennaratio in Psalmum 127, 3), which reminds us that only in Christ do we truly find unity: as members united to the Head and as companions on the journey of continuous learning in life.

The dimension of “with” is consistently present in the writings of Saint Augustine, and it is fundamental in educational contexts as a challenge to “decenter” oneself and as a stimulus to grow. For this reason, I have decided to revisit and update the Global Compact on Education project, which was one of the prophetic insights of my venerable predecessor Pope Francis. After all, our being does not belong to us, as the Teacher of Hippo teaches: “your soul belongs not just to you but to your brothers and sisters” (Ep. 243, 4). If this is true in a general sense, it is even more so in the reciprocity that is typical of education, in which the sharing of knowledge can only be seen as a great act of love.

Indeed, this very word – love – is our third word. It makes us reflect deeply on an Augustinian teaching that states: “The love of God is the first commandment, the love of neighbor is the first practice” (In Evangelium Ioannis Tractatus 17, 8). In the field of education, therefore, each one of us might ask ourselves what commitment are we making to address the most urgent needs; what efforts are we making to build bridges of dialogue and peace, even within teaching communities; what skills are we developing to overcome preconceptions or narrow views; what openness are we showing in co-learning processes; and what efforts are we making to meet and respond to the needs of the most fragile, poor and excluded?  Sharing knowledge is not enough for teaching: love is needed. Only then will knowledge be beneficial to those who receive it, in itself and above all, for the charity it conveys.  Teaching should never be separated from love. One of the current difficulties in our societies is that we no longer know how to value sufficiently the great contribution that teachers and educators make to the community.  But we need to be careful, because damaging the social and cultural role of educators means jeopardizing our own future, and a crisis in the transmission of knowledge carries with it a crisis of hope.

This brings us to the last key word: joy. True teachers educate with a smile, and their goal is to awaken smiles in the depths of their students’ souls.  Today, in our educational contexts, it is worrying to see the increasing symptoms of widespread inner fragility, at all ages.  We cannot close our eyes to these silent cries for help; on the contrary, we must strive to identify their underlying causes.  Artificial intelligence, in particular, with its technical, cold and standardized knowledge, can further cut off students who are already isolated, giving them the illusion that they do not need others or, worse still, the feeling that they are not worthy of them. The role of educators, on the other hand, is a human endeavor; and the very joy of the educational process is a fully human engagement, a “flame to melt our souls together, and out of many to make but one” (Saint Augustine, Confessions, IV, 8,13).

Therefore, dear friends, I invite you to make these values – interiority, unity, love and joy – the “key elements” of your mission to your students, remembering the words of Jesus: “as you did it to one of the least of these brethren, you did it to me” (Mt 25:40).  Brothers and sisters, I thank you for the valuable work you do! I give you my heartfelt blessing, and I will pray for you.