Sixty years of Gravissimum Educationis – colloquium and call for papers

October marks the 60th anniversary since Vatican II issued its Declaration on the Extreme Importance of Education, known as Gravissimum Educationis.  

Much of this slim but significant Council text became canon law. It also paved the way for the Congregation for Catholic Education, which evolved into the Dicastery for Culture and Education (DCE). Subsequent DCE documents have offered insights into the Church’s stance on education and the Catholic school, guiding the reception of the Declaration and the growing field of Catholic education studies.

A two-minute introduction to Gravissimum Educationis has been recorded by the CES as a podcast – listen here on Spotify.  

As part of St Mary’s University’s 175^th anniversary celebrations a colloquium on the continuing relevance of the Declaration will take place on 9 October at the university’s Twickenham campus, with keynote presentations from Dr Marie Kolbe Zamoro OSF, General Secretariat of the Synod and former School Principal and Dean of Theology; Professor Paul McPartland, Rector of Mater Ecclesiae College; Professor Lieven Boeve, Professor of Systematic Theology at the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies of KU Leuven; and Professor John Sullivan, Emeritus of Liverpool Hope University.

The colloquium is also encouraging proposals for papers considering any aspect of the historical, educational, theological or cultural relevance of Gravissimum Educationis. The papers will be held in parallel session and presenters will be asked to speak for up to 20 minutes. In addition to researchers and academics in Catholic education, papers are welcome from Catholic school, college and multi academy trust leaders.

To submit a paper please send an abstract of up to 300 words before 1 May to Dr Sean Whittle, Senior Lecturer in Catholic Education, at sean.whittle@stmarys.ac.uk