On May 14, 2026, Ascension Day, we will observe International Catholic Education Day. To celebrate this occasion, the OIEC has organized an international webinar, open to all, on a highly relevant topic: “Cultivating One’s Inner Life: Toward an Educational Transformation”.
It is also an opportunity for our Thouret Network to reflect on the apostolic dimensions of this initiative, as outlined in our guidelines: “It is advisable to foster in every person an inner life and an education in discernment, to enable them to better perceive the various impulses within them and to evaluate them. This is a long-term task that extends throughout the entire school journey. From the earliest years, the child opens up to knowledge, learning to pay attention to the ‘inner voice’ recognized by the moral conscience” (LDME, p.18).
Cultivating the inner life means placing the person at the center, collaborating in the building of a more fraternal and peaceful world. In a context marked by fragmentation, noise, violence, and acceleration, it becomes urgent to educate in silence, the search for meaning, and depth. It is only from a solid inner life that the educator can be an authentic and meaningful presence for young people, accompanying them with discernment and care. After all, it was the young people themselves who expressed this desire when they were consulted by the Committee of the World Educational Pact during World Youth Day and the recent Youth Jubilee: “Help us to educate ourselves in the inner life,” they said.
The Catholic School is called to be a place where one re-learns to “look at the stars,” uniting inquiry and depth, science and meaning, knowledge and wisdom. Protecting the inner life of young people means, at the same time, protecting the future.
The International Office for Education (UIPE) invites all our educational communities around the world to join in this event, to experience this day as a time of prayer and gratitude to thank educators and to highlight the important role that Catholic institutions play throughout the world.
