By Fr. Paweł Rytel-Andrianik, Wojciech Rogacin – Vatican City

One of the participants, Gina Stull, principal of St. Mary School in German Village, Columbus, Ohio, spoke with deep emotion: “It has been such a blessed experience, and we’ve received so many graces as we’ve come here.” She had come with a group of Catholic educators led by Bishop Fernandes, and her words reflected the sentiments shared by all the participants we spoke with.

Words of the Pope that reach the heart

The Holy Father’s audience and catechesis had a profound impact on the participants. Bishop Fernandes himself had the opportunity to speak with Pope Leo XIV.

“I said to the Pope: I bring you greetings from the Diocese of Columbus and from the Catholic Schools Office. And I handed him a jersey of the Columbus Crew, a professional soccer team based in Columbus. But it had the logo of our Office of Catholic Schools. And I said, thank you for all you’re doing for us. We’re praying for you.”

The Bishop said that the words spoken by Leo XIV during the catechesis deeply touched his heart. “It was a beautiful talk he gave — about interiority, about the need for unity, about the need for love. He concluded joyfully, drawing on these Augustinian principles he had articulated. He was very, very clear. And it’s a good reminder to all of us about the real purpose of Catholic education — that the true teacher is within,” said Bishop Fernandes.

Experiencing the living Church

Bishop Fernandes came to the Jubilee of the World of Education with a group of thirty representatives from the Office of Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Columbus, including several school principals. “We brought them here because I believe the Jubilee can be a transformative experience for them — not only in meeting the Pope, but also in being with other educators,” he said.

One of the participants, Adam Dufault, superintendent of Catholic schools for the Diocese of Columbus, spoke about the strong impression left on him by his encounters with educators from other continents — Africa, Asia, and beyond. “It reminds us that the world of Catholic education is so much bigger than one school or one diocese. It is global, and all over the world, we have schools that teach the faith, bringing students to love, know, and serve the Lord. And it’s a wonderful, amazing, beautiful thing,” he said.

Not just a job—a vocation

Kerrie Wrigley, assistant principal at St. Mary Magdalene School in Columbus, said that meeting Spanish-speaking teachers and listening to the Pope’s words were deeply inspiring.

Gina Stull added that she would take home from this trip a renewed sense of connection with the past and with Christ — a bond she experienced in Rome. “I think it is feeling a connection to the past and to Christ, and what his mission was on earth has become our mission because we are His hands, His feet, His eyes, His ears, and we have to take what we’ve learned and pass that on to our teachers, who then, in turn, pass it on to our students,” she added.

Bishop Earl K. Fernandes said he takes great joy in these experiences. “I also believe that we constantly say that our school teachers and administrators are spiritual leaders, yet we have to equip them for that role,” he said. “When they have an uplifting experience like meeting the Pope, seeing the Pope, being with other Catholics from around the world — the experience of the Church — they understand, ‘This is not just a job for me; this is a true vocation,’ and that our schools exist to evangelize, and they are part of that evangelizing mission.”