Put human dignity at heart of education, Pope tells Oxford students and staff

A delegation from Oriel College at the University of Oxford was urged by the Pope to ‘seek the truth courageously’ during a private audience at the Vatican to mark the 700th anniversary of the college’s royal charter.

Pope Leo XIV met the group, including college students and fellows, on 4 September at the Apostolic Palace. The meeting came a year after the Pope recognised St John Henry Newman, a former fellow at Oriel, as a Doctor of the Church.

Pope Leo told the delegation that Newman’s thought on education is particularly relevant today, especially its emphasis on formation that “embraces the entire person and measures the value of education according to human dignity, justice and the capacity to serve the common good”. 

He said Newman stands as a “shining example of a scholar”, whose commitment to the inseparability of faith and reason was evident not only in his works but also in his life.

“The profound depths of both dimensions of his life were recognised in his Declaration as a Doctor of the universal Church and co-patron of the Church’s education mission,” he continued.

“It is surely providential that your anniversary pilgrimage occurs in close proximity to an event of such significance both for you and for the entire Catholic Church.” 

The Pope encouraged the students and academics to continue to “promote this integral anthropological vision” and seek to “facilitate a ‘heart to heart’ encounter with your brothers and sisters, and especially with our Lord Jesus Christ”.

He said that Oriel has “remained firm in its Christian identity” over its “long and illustrious history” and “many changes, events and even upheavals”.

“Indeed, this identity is key to what has made and can continue to make Oriel not just an academic institution, but a true community of faith and scholarship in its deepest meaning.”

Kiel McHugh, a Catholic undergraduate in Classics who was part of the delegation, told The Tablet that the pilgrimage was “such a special way” to mark the end of his four years at Oriel.

“One of the key takeaways for me was the Holy Father’s emphasis on Oriel’s role not only as a community of scholarship but also of faith and the formation of the whole person,” he said.

“Our trip was an opportunity to celebrate our college’s Catholic origins and to give thanks for its continued and vibrant Christian community.

“It is a testament to the college’s fellows and tutors that they continue to put into practice Newman’s holistic vision of education. May it long continue with his prayers and those of the College’s patroness, the Blessed Virgin Mary!”

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