“Schools Must Encourage Transformative Compassion and Solidarity”

“You represent love and hope for the thousands of blessings that are each of these children, adolescents, and young people whom you accompany daily throughout the world.”

It was with these beautiful words, and many others, that the Superior General greeted the Dehonian International Education Commission – EDUCARE – meeting in Rome from November 15 to 19, 2025.

The Participants

All members were present, noting that two individuals were added to the commission so that the team could contribute more intensely to the Congregation’s educational sector. They are: Father Daniel Carvalho, who is currently working in China, specifically in Macau, where he carries out demanding work in the field of education. The second, Mr. Christian Lavergne, leads our school in Canada, the Séminaire du Sacré-Cœur de Jésus. This was the name of the former house of formation for SCJ seminarians in the Québec region.

To represent our educational works in Africa, Father Ignace Tatsopa from the Province of Congo had also recently joined the commission. However, for valid reasons, he could not attend the meeting; he was represented by the Director of our college in Nkongsamba, Cameroon (Father Michel Kamdem Colince).

Father Willyans Rapozo and I accompanied this commission, which is coordinated by Father Angel Alindado, from the Province of Spain.

The Work

The central theme of these days was how to promote the Dehonian charism and Christian values among the students in our schools. The exchange of experiences, ideas, and projects aimed to strengthen the bonds between our institutions and, thus, to create a network of collaboration allowing for mutual learning.

Another highlight of the meeting was the teaching of Catholic Christian values. It is becoming increasingly difficult to clearly express and present our values, even within our own institutions. The objective was to find the best way forward to neither exclude nor harm anyone.

A possible approach was suggested to us by the Spanish educator Juan Antonio Ojeda Ortiz (currently Head of Projects at the International Office of Catholic Education – OIEC – and representative of the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools to the OIEC).

He emphasized the importance of the heart in educational practice. Alongside intellectual formation, schools must encourage transformative compassion and solidarity. It is a matter of identity: students must undergo a process of humanization that leads them to care for themselves and others. It is essential to focus on fraternity and transcendental values while fostering collaboration. The school must be a place where students experience faith, compassion, and care for others and for nature.

The commission’s meeting made it possible to bring together various realities: African, Asian, North American, South American, and European.

May the Heart of Jesus make our hearts and the hearts of our students ever more conformed to His own.