Time of Listening: the educational mission of the Church is renewed by walking together

On 30 April, the “Time of Listening” meeting took place, an initiative promoted by the Education Commission of the International Union of Superiors General and the Union of Superiors General, coordinated by Priscilla, President of the Commission, together with Beatriz and the other members.

The event featured the participation of Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça and gathered around 300 people: more than 100 representatives of religious congregations, movements, associations and institutes, along with 200 participants online.

“Listening” and “educational mission” were the guiding words of the meeting, focused on the challenge of walking together as a missionary Church that goes forth, attentive to the signs of the times.

The 240 congregations present represent a great richness of charisms active in Catholic education. It was highlighted how tradition and the future can coexist through a creative fidelity to the charism.

From the dialogue, five key words emerged: listening, collaboration, shared charism, co-responsibility, and active hope. These are not only concepts, but attitudes called to be translated into concrete practices.

The meeting also identified several priorities for the educational mission: listening to those who experience daily school life, strengthening collaboration and synodality, networking charisms among congregations, dioceses and lay people, training and involving lay people, creating stable spaces for encounter, designing common educational projects, supporting teachers and educational communities, engaging in dialogue with the local Church, discerning together before making decisions about educational works, and cultivating trust and hope, believing in the strength of the charism.

The “Time of Listening” has been more than an event: a step towards a Church that learns to listen deeply in order to respond with fidelity and creativity to today’s educational challenges. In a context of uncertainty, the educational mission is reaffirmed as a space of hope, formation and community building. The journey continues, with the conviction that listening opens the future as a shared promise.