Pope Leo’s Jubilee Message Highlights Four Pillars of Education Rooted in Augustinian Wisdom

On October 31, 2025, Pope Leo delivered a heartfelt message to educators, urging them to renew their mission as formators of minds and hearts. His address was part of the Jubilee of Educators, celebrated in Rome from October 31 to November 2, within the wider framework of the Jubilee Year 2025 under the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.”

The event brought together thousands of teachers, professors, and education leaders from around the world for reflection, testimony, and prayer on the theme “Educating for a Culture of Hope.”

In his message, Pope Leo described education as “a journey of the mind and heart toward fullness of life.” Drawing inspiration from St. Augustine, the Doctor Gratiae, he presented four foundational pillars for all authentic education: interiority, truth, love, and joy. These, he said, reflect the integral dimensions of human growth that educators are called to nurture.

The first pillar, interiority, calls educators to help students cultivate the inner life. In an age marked by noise and superficiality, the Pope emphasized the need for silence, reflection, and self-knowledge. “Education begins within,” he said, reminding teachers that formation of conscience is as vital as the transmission of knowledge.

The second pillar, truth, was presented as the soul of education. Pope Leo underlined that truth is not a possession but a light that guides freedom. He invited educators to form students who seek truth with humility and courage, uniting faith and reason in the service of the common good.

The third pillar, love, gives meaning to all teaching. Echoing Augustine’s conviction that knowledge reaches fulfillment in charity, the Pope urged educators to teach with compassion, patience, and respect for every person’s dignity. “Education is an act of love,” he said, “that transforms knowledge into wisdom and relationships into communion.”

Finally, the Pope pointed to joy as both the fruit and the driving force of the educational mission. True learning, he noted, awakens joy in discovery and in service. “Without joy, education becomes mere instruction,” he warned. “With joy, it becomes formation.”

Concluding his message, Pope Leo entrusted all educators to Mary, Seat of Wisdom, encouraging them to live these four Augustinian pillars, interiority, truth, love, and joy, as paths of renewal and signs of hope for the world.