Last year, Pope Leo XIV published an apostolic letter called “Drawing New Maps of Hope.” (This is not to be confused with his apostolic exhortation on poverty called “Dilexi te.” There are lots of types of papal writings and it’s tough to keep them all straight.)

Anyway, “Drawing New Maps of Hope” was all about Catholic education, and the letter itself was released to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Vatican II declaration on education called “Gravissimum educationis.” It seemed like a good time to talk to an expert on primary and secondary Catholic education and find out how things are going in today’s environment. How do Catholic schools stand out in a crowded marketplace? How do we keep energy going even when some Catholic schools especially in the northeast and the Midwest have been forced to merge or close?

So host Mike Jordan Laskey got his old college friend Dr. Michael O’Connor on the line, who serves as Program Director of Outreach and Professional Development at Boston College’s Roche Center for Catholic Education. That essentially means Michael spends most of his time working with faculty and administration at partner Catholic schools and dioceses around the country, helping them live their mission even more deeply.

Anyone interested in the present and future of Catholic education in the U.S. will enjoy hearing Michael’s reaction to the new letter from Pope Leo and how Catholic schools are responding to our challenging times with creativity and boldness.

Pope Leo XIV’s “Drawing New Maps of Hope” apostolic letter: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiv/en/apost_letters/documents/20251027-disegnare-nuove-mappe.html

Learn more about Michael O’Connor, Ph.D., on the Roche Center staff page: https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/lynch-school/sites/roche/About/Bios.html

Roche Center for Catholic Education: https://www.bc.edu/bc-web/schools/lynch-school/sites/roche.html

AMDG is a production of the Jesuit Media Lab, which is a project of the Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States.

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