By Joan McCarthy Director of Education, Archdiocese of Liverpool

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As December begins, we find ourselves at a moment of both ending and beginning - the close of another calendar year and the opening of a new Church year with the season of Advent. It is a time for reflection and gratitude, a moment to look back on the many blessings of the Jubilee Year and to look forward in hope to what lies ahead.

 

Throughout this Jubilee Year, the schools and colleges of the Archdiocese of Liverpool have embodied that hope in remarkable ways - through faith-filled service, compassionate leadership, and daily witness to the Gospel. I extend my sincere thanks to all who contribute to this mission: headteachers, staff, governors, chaplains, pupils, and families. Together you continue to make our Catholic communities places of light and joy.

 

Recently, Pope Leo XIV issued the apostolic letter Drawing New Maps of Hope, signed on 27 October 2025, and published on 28 October 2025.

 

This document marks the sixtieth anniversary of the Gravissimum educationis – the Declaration on Christian Education promulgated on 28 October 1965.

 

In the letter, the Holy Father reiterates the foundational vision of that earlier text - that Catholic education is not a peripheral activity but is deeply integral to the Church’s mission of evangelisation. He underscores that education must always centre on the human person - “a face, a story, a vocation” - and not simply be reduced to a skills profile or algorithm.

 

The letter challenges our schools, colleges, and educational communities to respond to the contemporary realities of digital fragmentation, relational instability, and global inequalities, by renewing our commitment to forming the whole person: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical.

 

It invites us to live hope actively - to “draw new maps of hope” - that guide young people into truth and service rather than merely proficiency.

 

For us, at this time when the calendar year draws to a close, but the Church’s new year begins in Advent, this message resonates deeply. December gives us both a moment of thanksgiving for all we have achieved in the Jubilee Year and a fresh horizon of opportunity. The document reminds us that the mission of Catholic education continues with renewed urgency and purpose.

 

May this new liturgical year be one of renewed faith, peace, and hope for all within our archdiocese.