06.29.2026 

What is the purpose of a Catholic school today? It was with this question that Bishop Alexandre Palma began his address on the morning of the second day of the General Conference of the RSHM Global Network of Schools. The question, as he himself acknowledged, is “as important as it is reductive,” since the concepts of school, Catholic school, and even time and space change realities, needs, and perceptions. Nevertheless, he did not hesitate to affirm that the school “needs visionaries for the good of the world that God loves.”

Inspired by the Apostolic Letter Drawing New Maps of Hope, which guided his address, the Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon told the conference participants that, in his view, it “is an inspiration! It does not seek merely to communicate ideas, but to give encouragement and soul to educational agents.” He emphasised that hope is not just a motto or a slogan, but “a way of acting according to God,” and that “the foundation of education lies not in optimism but in hope.”

In fact, in a tone of hope and encouragement, Bishop Alexandre Palma stated that “the school must be a repository of wisdom accumulated throughout history, but never a nostalgic refuge,” and that “freedom is necessary for education, and fear is the enemy of freedom.” Schools are “stars in a constellation,” made up of diverse institutions, histories, and charisms—such as that of the Sacred Heart of Mary and others—which present themselves as “bridges,” “anchors,” and “compasses in different times.”

Continuing to draw on the Apostolic Letter, and addressing the teaching and leadership teams of the 19 schools that make up the Global Network, he stressed that “Christian education is a shared task: no one educates alone. The educational community is a ‘we’.” Without neglecting responsible and rigorous knowledge, which must also be “deeply human,” he advocated for a holistic and integral education that includes a “pedagogy of the gaze” and the “safeguarding of the heart.”

At a time of crisis of meaning, it is necessary to “educate for service. Society needs people with a sense of the common good.” No student “should leave a Catholic school without understanding that their purpose  is to be of service and that therein lies true happiness,” he stated, before concluding by offering the following proposals: to move from a school that transmits content to a school that generates hope; to make the educational relationship the primary pedagogical tool; to educate for discernment, not just for performance; to transform each school into a true community of learning and care; and to ask each year what maps of hope we are offering our students—and what maps they are offering the school.

The General Conference continued with a round table entitled “Identified,” moderated by Professor Pedro Martins and featuring Manuel Fontaine Campos, a parent, both from Colégio Nossa Senhora do Rosário; José Ferreira, a former student of Colégio Sagrado Coração de Maria – Fátima; and Daniela Santos, a teacher at Colégio Sagrado Coração de Maria – Lisbon.