In a recent feature for Momentum, Gerald (“Jerry”) M. Cattaro, Ed.D., of Fordham’s Graduate School of Education explores how Pope Francis’ roots as a Jesuit educator continue to shape his global message and what that means for the future of Catholic schools.
The article, Pope Francis’ Pedagogy: From Chaos to Kairos (PDF), draws a line from the classrooms of Buenos Aires to today’s most urgent conversations around dignity, justice and the formation of conscience. For Cattaro, who leads Fordham’s Center for Catholic School Leadership and Faith-Based Education, the piece is more than a reflection. It is part of a larger, lived mission that challenges Catholic educators to see their work as both pastoral and prophetic.
The center’s partnerships with schools and dioceses across the country are grounded in this model. Whether through leadership development, policy guidance or research-informed programming, the goal is the same: to form educators who are attentive to the whole person and who lead with moral clarity, spiritual depth and cultural awareness.
Pope Francis may have framed it as a call to move from chaos to kairos. For Cattaro and his Fordham colleagues, it is also about showing up every day for students, for communities and for a Church that learns as it teaches.
