This is Catholic Education Week.  Publicly funded Catholic education has existed in Ontario since 1841 and its graduates have served Ontario and Canada very well. The current generation of students in our publicly funded Catholic schools will serve with the same spirit and generosity as their previous generations. Catholic Education has long been one of the main apostolates of the Congregation of the Resurrection, and we are so grateful for the opportunity to work with and be inspired by the amazing staff and students in our Catholic School system.

This year’s Catholic Education theme is, “Pilgrims of Hope: On the Path to Holiness.”

The theme for Catholic Education Week 2026 was inspired by the following considerations:

• The Pilgrims of Hope Jubilee year provides us the ongoing opportunity to serve the common good and recommit ourselves to prayer, service, and evangelization.
• As we remember our late Pope Francis, and eagerly embrace the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, the coming school year will be a time to renew the momentum of our Jubilee celebrations, by inviting everyone in Catholic education to embrace the journey toward holiness and peace.
• In light of the canonization of Blessed Carlos Acutis, the Catholic Education Week theme will focus on the Pastoral Letter to Young People issued by the Bishops of Canada in October 2022. As young people themselves, their example shows us, very vividly, what it means to live as pilgrims on a journey of faith, toward a hope grounded in the unshakeable love of the Risen Jesus.
• Our lives as Christians are truly a path toward holiness – becoming, more and more, the people God created us to be. That will look different in each of our lives, but for all of us, we know that it is God’s Spirit at work in us who guides us toward holiness: “The Holy Spirit illumines all believers with the light of hope. He keeps that light burning, like an ever-burning lamp, to sustain and invigorate our lives.” (Spes Non Confundit, 3)