Columban co-worker Jacqui facilitates a session on caring for our common home and gardening with grade six students. Photo: Adi Mariana Waqa
Today is the International Day of Education which celebrates the key role “education” plays in world peace and development. The right to education is recorded as article 26 in the Universal Declaration for Human Rights (UDHR) and declares that elementary education should be compulsory and free for all children. Further to this is the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) states that signatory countries shall give access to higher education for all persons who pursue it.
The late Pope Francis once said, “We consider education to be one of the most effective ways of making our world and history more human. Education is above all a matter of love and responsibility handed down from one generation to another”.
If we are to follow Pope Francis’ definition of education as a matter of love and responsibility, then there is still much to be done to ensuring that every child, youth, and adult has an opportunity to receive some form of education in their lifetime.
The United Nations estimates that globally, 244 million children and adolescents do not attend school and 617 million cannot read or do basic math.[1] This lack of education can stagnate cognitive development, emotional awareness, and the ability to critically think and ask questions in order to further one’s learning. It is therefore an injustice that so many children go through life without access to education which in turn limits the possibilities of bettering the trajectory of their lives.
As Catholics, education plays a key part of children’s formation and this is evidently based on the number of primary and secondary schools belonging to the Church across the world. The Marist Brothers are known internationally for their charism based on St Marcellin Champagat’s (1817) holistic teachings of loving students, guiding spiritual growth, and fostering a culture of “family” spirit in their schools. In Australia, Catholic institutions like the Edmund Rice Centre focus on Gospel spirituality, inclusivity, and justice, while schools under the Mercy Sisters’ Education focus their work on academic excellence, compassion for the poor, and respect towards all.
For Columban Missionaries, education is a day to day practice of learning about new cultures, languages, geographical locations, and discernment of how God’s call for them in parish communities can provide reciprocated learning opportunities. This willingness to live out St Columban’s words of “A life unlike your own can be your teacher” means that Columbans value education as a life-long commitment to understanding God, others, and oneself.
Most recently, the Columban value of education has been demonstrated through its refreshed Schools Partnership Program where the focus on mission priorities in (i) biodiversity, and (ii) migrants and refugees has provided new opportunities to engage with schools and develop educational resources on church documents like “Laudato Si” in efforts to creatively communicate Catholic social teachings for children and adolescents of this generation.
If education is a matter of responsibility and love, then for the Columban Partnership Program, 2026 is a new year to responsibly support the work of educators in Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, by providing sessions that encourage children and adolescents to love God, love one another, and love our common home and all its inhabitants.
Happy International Education Day!
Adi Mariana Waqa is the Columban Partnership Coordinator at St Columban's, Essendon.
