On Thursday 30 April 2026, Curia Generalizia della Compagnia di Gesù hosted the event “A Time of Listening on the Church’s Educational Mission”, aimed at the Union of Superiors General and the International Union of Superiors General. The event was attended by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, together with his delegates for education.

The meeting, structured according to the synodal method and in continuity with the apostolic letter "Drawing New Maps of Hope" signed by Pope Leo XIV on the occasion of the Jubilee of the World of Education, provided an opportunity to relaunch the Global Educational Pact and to build a dialogue based on listening, discernment and sharing around the themes of the Church’s educational mission, thereby revitalising the Global Education Compact by turning educational principles into genuine, concrete and shared choices. Among the themes that emerged during the proceedings: education in interiority, the accompaniment of the most vulnerable young people, the relationship between education and the digital world, the promotion of peace, and the strengthening of collaboration between Congregations, dioceses and educational communities, to which correspond certain priorities such as the enhancement of networking, the formation of laypeople as educational leaders, the promotion of synodality, and the creation of permanent spaces for listening and dialogue.

The central speech of the meeting, delivered by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, highlighted the potential of Catholic schools – described as “places of encounter, dialogue and prophecy” – to meet the need to engage with the younger generation and to embrace different cultures and traditions, whilst promoting dignity and the right to education for all. 

Read also: 

• A time for Listening on the Church Mission of Education | USG