Educating is a great form of evangelization

At the last general audience before the summer vacation, Francis recalled the missionary zeal of Saint Mary MacKillop, who spent her life educating the poor in rural Australia. “May Saints Peter and Paul support us in following Christ and intercede for peace in Ukraine.”

Vatican City () – “Catholic education is a great form of evangelization”, especially when it puts care for the poor and marginalized first. This is what Pope Francis told pilgrims present today in St. Peter’s Square for the general audience, the last one before the usual July break (audiences will resume on Wednesday, August 9).

Continuing his reflection on the zeal in evangelization from some great missionary figures, the pontiff today dedicated his catechesis to the example offered by Saint Mary MacKillop (1842-1909), founder of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of the Sacred Heart, who dedicated her life to the intellectual and religious formation of the poor in rural Australia. “Convinced that she had been sent to spread the Good News and attract others to encounter the living God, and wisely reading the signs of the times,” she explained, “she realized that the best way to do it was through the education of young people, knowing that Catholic education is a great form of evangelization”.

An essential feature of his zeal for the Gospel consisted in caring for the poor and marginalized. “A person cannot advance in holiness if he does not also dedicate himself to them, in one way or another. They, who need the help of the Lord, carry the presence of the Lord.” And this attention to the poor and marginalized “pushed Mary to go where others would not or could not go.” On March 19, 1866, the feast of Saint Joseph, she opened the first school in a small suburb in South Australia. Many others followed, which she and her sisters founded in rural communities. They multiplied, because apostolic zeal does this: it multiplies the works”.

“Educating does not consist in filling the head with ideas”, but in “accompanying and encouraging students on the path of human and spiritual growth, showing them how friendship with the risen Jesus broadens the heart and makes life more human. Educating is helping to think well: to feel good -the language of the heart- and to do good -the language of the hands- This vision is fully current today, when we feel the need for an ‘educational pact’ capable of uniting families, the school and all of society”.

The Pontiff also highlighted the great trust in Providence that always guided this Australian saint: “She had to pay the bills – he commented -, deal with the local bishops and priests, manage the schools and take care of the professional and spiritual formation of her Sisters ; and, later, health problems. However, despite everything, he remained calm, patiently carrying the cross that is a fundamental part of the mission.”

Mary MacKillop “did not give up in times of trial and darkness, when her joy was marred by opposition and rejection. She was firmly convinced that even as the Lord allotted her ‘the bread of affliction and the water of tribulation’ (Is 30,20), the Lord himself would soon respond to her cry and surround her with his grace. This is the secret of apostolic zeal: the continuous relationship with the Lord.”

“The missionary discipleship of Saint Mary MacKillop, her creative response to the needs of the Church of her time, her commitment to the integral formation of young people – the Pope concluded – inspire all of us today, called to be leaven of the Gospel in our rapidly changing societies. May their example and intercession sustain the daily work of parents, teachers, catechists and all educators, for the good of young people and for a more humane future full of hope”.

Lastly, recalling in his greeting to the Italian pilgrims the Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul that will be celebrated tomorrow, Francis wished that “the example and protection of these two apostles support each of us in following Christ. Let us entrust the dear Ukrainian people to their intercession, so that they find peace soon: there is a lot of suffering in Ukraine, let us not forget it.”