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Image: Heinrich Hofmann’s Jesus Christ. (Hofmann lived from 1824-1911)
Pope Francis’ address to the promoters of the écoles de vie(s) – School of Life project
Managing Catholic Education in France (OGEC) (10 January 2025)
Friday, January 10, 2025
“We are called to recognize each individual as a unique and irreplaceable person
Dear sisters, dear brothers
It is with joy today that I welcome you, promoters of the “Écoles de Vie(s)” project, accompanied by Bishop Philippe Christory, Bishop of Chartres.
Your formation project, with the Gospel and the social teaching of the Church’s at its center,
highlights a fundamental truth: every person, however fragile, is the bearer of intrinsic value and we are called to “recognize each individual as a unique and irreplaceable person” (Brothers All, 98).
Every human life has inalienable dignity. Through your commitment, you proclaim that no one is worthless, no one is unworthy, that every existence is a gift from God to be received with love and respect. Thank you!
Jesus himself teaches this by his example. In his ministry he always went out to meet the sick, the rejected, those who were excluded from the society of his time. And he touched the lepers, spoke to the outcasts, and welcomed with love those who seemed to have no place in society.
“Jesus makes contact, Jesus makes direct contact with those who experience disability, because it, like any form of infirmity, cannot to be ignored or denied.
But Jesus does not only relate to them: He also changes the meaning of their experience; in fact, He introduces a new outlook […]. For Him, every human condition, even those marked by strong limitations, is an invitation to weave a singular relationship with God that makes people flourish again”. This is important: the relationship with God always makes people flourish.
By welcoming everyone with their frailties and bringing together a large number of actors, you embody that outgoing Church which I have often advocated, an open Church, a welcoming Church, capable of reaching out to each and every person and healing the wounds of those who suffer, tenderly caressing those who are deprived of affection and lifting up those who have fallen to the ground.
Remember that there is only one situation in which it is permissible to look down on a person: to help him to lift himself up.
Young people in particular despite their limitations, are rich in unsuspected potential.
We are called to create spaces in which they can express themselves fully.
We must make room for their dreams, welcome them and give them hope. With your help, they can discover that their lives are meaningful and that they have a unique role to play in society.
I am delighted that your project is very much in keeping with the vision of education proposed in the Global Covenant on Education: an integral education that does not merely transmit knowledge, but seeks to form men and women capable of compassion and brotherly love.
In this way, you are contributing to an education that prepares for the future, forming, not only competent professionals, but mature adults who will be the builders of a more beautiful and humane world, imbued with the Gospel.
In this Jubilee Year of Hope, I encourage you to persevere with determination, because only by restoring centrality to the human person, by integrating his or her spiritual dimension, will we be able to build a truly just and caring society. Your initiative is a concrete response to this aspiration: it restores to people, to all people, marginalized by disability or frailty their place within a fraternal and joyful community. May your commitment inspire other initiatives om favor of the most vulnerable, and may your action open up prospects for an integral education that the younger generations so urgently need.
May the Virgin Mary, Mother of Hope and Educator of Jesus, accompany and protect you. I bless you from my heart, with all the people you serve, the young people you educate, all the families and all those who support this beautiful project. And please do not forget to pray for me. Thank you.
