200 Years Young - A Pastoral Letter from the Bishops of Australia to the leaders, staff, students and families of Catholic education in Australia. Each child will bring home a prayer card today.

An extraordinary achievement 

Two hundred years ago the first official Catholic school opened in Australia. Since then Catholic education has grown to the point that it now educates around 770,000 primary and secondary school students, in more than 1,750 schools, with nearly 100,000 staff. These are sponsored by dioceses and parishes, religious institutes and public juridic persons, and groups of parents. Six thousand Catholic catechists participate in the religious education of 200,000 children in government schools and parishes. Over the last few years, hundreds of Churchsponsored early learning centres have been established, educating many thousands of preschoolers. Around 50,000 tertiary students are now enrolled in our two Catholic universities with their several campuses.

It is an extraordinary achievement! Catholic schools are a jewel in the crown of the Catholic Church in Australia, with few parallels in other countries. Alongside families and parishes they are the Church’s principal meeting point with young people. They are integral to the Church’s mission of transmitting the faith to the next generation. It is there that many young people encounter Christ, intensify their knowledge and love of God, and are formed as future contributors to Australian society. We hope all our students will emerge from our schools with a deepened sense of the sacred and greater appreciation of the true, the good and the beautiful.

Catholic education is steadfast in its commitment to evangelisation, catechesis, religious education and spiritual and moral formation. Catholic schools are also a major part of Australia’s educational ecosystem. They are the equal of other schools regarding educational programs, student achievement, teacher professionalism, facilities and innovation. They have provided highquality education to generations of young Australians, now numbering in their millions. They stand as a beacon in our society, for their contribution to the common good and to the nation’s social capital. They have helped nurture a more just, tolerant and cohesive society.

Catholic education is determined in its commitment to excellence and equity. In this bicentenary year more than one in five Australian students attends a Catholic school, and many others a Catholic preschool, college or university. There are Catholic schools in most towns and suburbs, and university campuses in most capital cities. The students come from diverse backgrounds and beliefs. They are no longer all from poorer families, as so many were in the first century and a half of Catholic education. Despite our continuing preferential option for the poor and concern to be more accessible to First Australians, refugees, those with disabilities or other disadvantage, our schools now boast children drawn from every part of our society. Yet for all their diversity, they form a community with a common purpose and shared mission.

As Christ said that He had come “that they might have life, life to the full” (John 10:10), we seek to draw out our students’ gifts, address their challenges and enable them to experience fullness of life. Catholic schools have long held that education should be directed not just towards personal enrichment for the individual student but also to community contribution. Unsurprisingly, therefore, one of the great successes of Catholic education has been how many of its graduates have gone on to put their character, skills and knowledge at the service of others: as civic leaders or judges, leaders of industry, professions or trades, and in many other ways. Many have gone on to be spouses and parents, establishing their home as ‘a domestic church’, contributing to their parish and volunteering in their local community. Many, too, have joined ‘caring professions’ such as education and healthcare, or a life-long religious vocation, as priests, sisters or brothers.

The extraordinary success of Catholic education did not occur by chance: it is fruit of the sacrifice of past generations and divine grace. We are heirs to that rich legacy, borne out of sincere belief, inspiring vision and unwavering resolve. The bicentenary of Catholic education in Australia invites us to remember the past with gratitude, be inspired by that story in the present, and look forward with faith in the future.