On October 28, 2025, the Church marked the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Gravissimum educationis — the declaration that first placed education at the heart of the Church’s mission. In honour of that milestone, Pope Leo XIV has given us a new compass: “Drawing New Maps of Hope.”
This text is not simply an anniversary message; it is a charter for Catholic education in the twenty-first century. It re-casts education as one of the highest expressions of Christian love, calls for a new “cosmology of Christian paideia,” and paints a vision of Catholic education as a living constellation of schools, universities and communities that “shine together” across the world.
From the global Church to Irish classrooms
For those of us working in and with Irish Catholic schools, the timing could not be more providential. As Nicky Cuddihy wrote recently in The Irish Catholic, “the Catholic school remains one of the Church’s most consistent expressions of hope in Ireland.” Yet the context in which we live that hope has shifted dramatically: pluralism, digital culture, teacher recruitment pressures, and the gradual withdrawal of religious congregations all pose profound challenges.
In this landscape, Pope Leo’s document acts as both mirror and map. It mirrors the reality of our schools — complex, diverse, often stretched — but also maps a renewed path forward grounded in faith, formation and fraternity.
Formation: the foundation of renewal
Central to the Pope’s vision is the formation of educators and leaders. In words that resonate deeply with our own work in Folláine Catholic Education Leadership Services, he calls for “an initial and permanent project of formation” that equips educators to face contemporary challenges with wisdom and faith.
This theme was also at the heart of our paper presented at the Catholic Education Conference in Marino earlier this year. We argued that the future vitality of Catholic education in Ireland will depend not on structures alone but on the formation of hearts — leaders who integrate faith, intellect and compassion; who understand Catholic education not as nostalgia, but as a living mission of accompaniment.
It seeks to shape leaders who embody what Pope Leo describes as ‘choreographers of hope’”
Our FOLLÁINE model — Faith, Openness, Love, Leadership, Áíocht (radical hospitality), Integrity, Nurture and Encouragement — is one response to this call. It seeks to shape leaders who embody what Pope Leo describes as “choreographers of hope” — men and women capable of translating Gospel values into the daily culture of their schools.
‘Constellations’ and collaboration
Pope Leo’s striking metaphor of the educational constellation perfectly captures the Irish situation. Across the island, we see a mosaic of Catholic schools under various patron bodies — trusts, congregational, diocesan and independent Catholic schools — each shining with its own charism.
The challenge, he says, is no longer competition but convergence: to recognise our interdependence and to collaborate more intentionally in leadership formation, ethos renewal, and advocacy for the Catholic voice in education. That is precisely the spirit in which Folláine has emerged — not as a rival to existing structures, but as a partner in strengthening them.
A faith that breathes through learning
“Drawing New Maps of Hope” also re-asserts the integration of faith and culture at the heart of Catholic pedagogy. “Faith,” the Pope writes, “is not an added subject, but a breath that oxygenates every other subject.”
This insight challenges Irish Catholic schools to move beyond tokenistic expressions of ethos and to cultivate classrooms where theological, moral, ecological and digital questions are explored in dialogue with reason and creativity. It echoes the Global Compact on Education’s seven pathways — putting the person at the centre, listening to young people, promoting women’s dignity, and caring for our common home — all of which resonate with Irish schools’ renewed emphasis on inclusion, sustainability and wellbeing.
Towards a shared future of hope
Pope Leo’s call is clear: Catholic education must be a laboratory of discernment and innovation, not a nostalgic refuge. In Ireland, this means courageously facing the questions of governance, identity and leadership succession, while ensuring that the beating heart of Catholic education — faith in Jesus Christ and love for the young — continues to animate all we do.
Nicky Cuddihy’s recent reflection captured this beautifully when he wrote that Catholic schools “stand as places of light, where faith meets learning and every student’s dignity is honoured.” “Drawing New Maps of Hope” confirms that vision on a global scale and offers a theological foundation for it.
For Irish Catholic education, then, the task ahead is both ancient and new: to form leaders who will keep the light burning, to strengthen the constellation of our schools, and to ensure that every child who walks through our doors encounters not only knowledge but hope.
A new map for Ireland
Sixty years after Gravissimum educationis, Catholic education in Ireland remains one of the Church’s most credible and compassionate public witnesses. “Drawing New Maps of Hope” invites us to re-imagine that witness for a digital and pluralist age — with fewer labels, more stories; fewer sterile contrasts, more harmony in the Spirit.
It invites every Catholic educator — teacher, SNAs, principal, chaplain, Board Member, trustee executive— to join the great work of formation”
It reminds us that our schools are not simply institutions of learning, but places where the Gospel becomes relationship, culture and life.
And it invites every Catholic educator — teacher, SNAs, principal, chaplain, Board Member, trustee executive— to join the great work of formation, not only of others, but of ourselves.
Dr Áine Moran is Principal of Sancta Maria College, Louisburgh, and co-founder of Folláine Catholic Education Leadership Services, which supports Catholic school leaders across Ireland through formation, retreats and ethos development. www.follaineleadership.ie
What ‘Drawing New Maps of Hope’ means for Catholic education in Ireland – Re-imagining faith, formation and leadership in light of Pope Leo XIV’s recent letter on education
On October 28, 2025, the Church marked the 60th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council’s Gravissimum educationis — the declaration that first placed education at the heart of the Church’s mission. In honour of that milestone, Pope Leo XIV has given us a new compass: “Drawing New Maps of Hope.”
This text is not simply an anniversary message; it is a charter for Catholic education in the twenty-first century. It re-casts education as one of the highest expressions of Christian love, calls for a new “cosmology of Christian paideia,” and paints a vision of Catholic education as a living constellation of schools, universities and communities that “shine together” across the world.
From the global Church to Irish classrooms
For those of us working in and with Irish Catholic schools, the timing could not be more providential. As Nicky Cuddihy wrote recently in The Irish Catholic, “the Catholic school remains one of the Church’s most consistent expressions of hope in Ireland.” Yet the context in which we live that hope has shifted dramatically: pluralism, digital culture, teacher recruitment pressures, and the gradual withdrawal of religious congregations all pose profound challenges.
In this landscape, Pope Leo’s document acts as both mirror and map. It mirrors the reality of our schools — complex, diverse, often stretched — but also maps a renewed path forward grounded in faith, formation and fraternity.
Formation: the foundation of renewal
Central to the Pope’s vision is the formation of educators and leaders. In words that resonate deeply with our own work in Folláine Catholic Education Leadership Services, he calls for “an initial and permanent project of formation” that equips educators to face contemporary challenges with wisdom and faith.
This theme was also at the heart of our paper presented at the Catholic Education Conference in Marino earlier this year. We argued that the future vitality of Catholic education in Ireland will depend not on structures alone but on the formation of hearts — leaders who integrate faith, intellect and compassion; who understand Catholic education not as nostalgia, but as a living mission of accompaniment.
Our FOLLÁINE model — Faith, Openness, Love, Leadership, Áíocht (radical hospitality), Integrity, Nurture and Encouragement — is one response to this call. It seeks to shape leaders who embody what Pope Leo describes as “choreographers of hope” — men and women capable of translating Gospel values into the daily culture of their schools.
‘Constellations’ and collaboration
Pope Leo’s striking metaphor of the educational constellation perfectly captures the Irish situation. Across the island, we see a mosaic of Catholic schools under various patron bodies — trusts, congregational, diocesan and independent Catholic schools — each shining with its own charism.
The challenge, he says, is no longer competition but convergence: to recognise our interdependence and to collaborate more intentionally in leadership formation, ethos renewal, and advocacy for the Catholic voice in education. That is precisely the spirit in which Folláine has emerged — not as a rival to existing structures, but as a partner in strengthening them.
A faith that breathes through learning
“Drawing New Maps of Hope” also re-asserts the integration of faith and culture at the heart of Catholic pedagogy. “Faith,” the Pope writes, “is not an added subject, but a breath that oxygenates every other subject.”
This insight challenges Irish Catholic schools to move beyond tokenistic expressions of ethos and to cultivate classrooms where theological, moral, ecological and digital questions are explored in dialogue with reason and creativity. It echoes the Global Compact on Education’s seven pathways — putting the person at the centre, listening to young people, promoting women’s dignity, and caring for our common home — all of which resonate with Irish schools’ renewed emphasis on inclusion, sustainability and wellbeing.
Towards a shared future of hope
Pope Leo’s call is clear: Catholic education must be a laboratory of discernment and innovation, not a nostalgic refuge. In Ireland, this means courageously facing the questions of governance, identity and leadership succession, while ensuring that the beating heart of Catholic education — faith in Jesus Christ and love for the young — continues to animate all we do.
Nicky Cuddihy’s recent reflection captured this beautifully when he wrote that Catholic schools “stand as places of light, where faith meets learning and every student’s dignity is honoured.” “Drawing New Maps of Hope” confirms that vision on a global scale and offers a theological foundation for it.
For Irish Catholic education, then, the task ahead is both ancient and new: to form leaders who will keep the light burning, to strengthen the constellation of our schools, and to ensure that every child who walks through our doors encounters not only knowledge but hope.
A new map for Ireland
Sixty years after Gravissimum educationis, Catholic education in Ireland remains one of the Church’s most credible and compassionate public witnesses. “Drawing New Maps of Hope” invites us to re-imagine that witness for a digital and pluralist age — with fewer labels, more stories; fewer sterile contrasts, more harmony in the Spirit.
It reminds us that our schools are not simply institutions of learning, but places where the Gospel becomes relationship, culture and life.
And it invites every Catholic educator — teacher, SNAs, principal, chaplain, Board Member, trustee executive— to join the great work of formation, not only of others, but of ourselves.
Dr Áine Moran is Principal of Sancta Maria College, Louisburgh, and co-founder of Folláine Catholic Education Leadership Services, which supports Catholic school leaders across Ireland through formation, retreats and ethos development. www.follaineleadership.ie
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