By David Harris
Adviser for Catholic Education, Archdiocese of Birmingham 

I had the opportunity to represent schools in England and Wales at the Jubilee for Education which culminated in St John Henry Newman being declared the 38th Doctor of the Church. 

Travelling and representing CAFOD (Catholic Agency For Overseas Development), I joined the delegation invited by the Vatican to share how schools had responded to the call to be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. 

On Thursday 30th November, Pope Leo met with students from across the world. Speaking from the audience Hall, he said of education ‘Education is like a telescope that allows you to look beyond and discover what you would not see on your own. So do not remain fixated on your smartphones and their fleeting bursts of images; instead, look to the sky, to the heights.’

The response to the Jubilee year has been phenomenal with schools around England and Wales undertaking activities such as making bags of hope with items for those experiencing homelessness, prayer boxes for family reflections and of course making the Jubilee Pledge.

The CAFOD Jubilee Pledge has given schools the opportunity to ensure that the themes of jubilee continue beyond the Jubilee year and schools undertaking this commitment, pledge to work for justice, love, and peace, and to be agents of change for the common good. 

A highlight of the Jubilee for Education was witnessing St John Henry Newman being made a Doctor of the Church. His motto ‘heart speaks unto heart’ is core to our mission within Catholic Education to ensure that Catholic Social Teaching, which is underpinned by the foundational principle of Dignity of the Human person. 

This is central to the revised mission statement of the Diocesan Education Service ‘Forming Christ-centred pilgrims of hope with kind hearts, questioning minds, a thirst for knowledge and a hunger for justice’.

Whether it’s through fundraising, climate action or solidarity with global communities, young people today are living out Newman’s legacy by: 
•    Asking deep questions
•    Acting with integrity
•    Serving with love

In conclusion, although the Year of Jubilee may be coming to an end, it offers all schools the opportunity to continue giving and inspiring hope in everyone we meet for years to come.