Educating for Eternity
“The goal of a Catholic education is to go beyond knowledge and skills in order to open the mind, transform the heart, and ignite the soul to bring students to Jesus Christ.”
“Christian education resembles a choreography…To form the “whole” person means avoiding compartmentalization. When it is true, faith is not an added “subject,” but a breath that oxygenates every other subject.”
[SOURCE: “Draw New Maps of Hope”, paragraph 6.2, Pope Leo XIV, October 2025]
The Diocese of Fall River Catholic schools have been on a mission to intentionally be guided by the Word of Christ and to communicate that the foundational importance of a Catholic education is that each student is created, loved, and made in God’s image and likeness (Gen 1:26). And when education is approached with these understandings, it enriches the entire learning experience.
“Education with faith and witnessing is what is changing people’s lives and changing people’s perceptions of the world. Why are they in this world and what is the meaning of their lives? These are the things that Catholic education helps people understand so that they see life differently, they see the world differently, and they see other people differently.” (Bishop da Cunha 2025)
THE BEAUTY OF A CATHOLIC EDUCATION
Brett Salkeld, Ph.D., author of Educating for Eternity [i], succinctly describes the beauty of Catholic education. “An education, in the end, is more about formation than about information. Our job as Catholic educators is to form students, inside and outside of the class, into people who know that they are made for greatness and understand what true greatness is; people who believe in the possibility of a good life and are cultivating the virtues needed to live in it; people who are willing and able, even eager, to sacrifice lower goods for higher ones.”
CATHOLIC ACADEMIC INTEGRATION[ii]
It is important to recognize that Catholic Academic Integration is not primarily about adding Catholic content into each subject matter, but rather encouraging the exploration of all types of content and teaching through the Catholic lens to help make sense of all life and learning.
- To form students to participate in public life as Catholics.
- Equip students to bring healing and unity to our culture.
- Encourage students to imagine possibilities beyond themselves and contemporary mindsets.
The primary goal of Catholic education is to bring students to Christ and help them develop their relationship with Christ. In doing so, each student is guided along their path of understanding of their unique God-given talents and gifts. Students also learn that we are made for something higher when we see that ALL people are ultimately made for God. Catholic schools cultivate a culture where big picture questions and the pursuit of the truth are welcomed and engaged.
[i] Salkeld, Brett, Educating for Eternity, A Teacher’s Companion for Making Every Class Catholic, Our Sunday Visitor, published 2023
[ii] Ibid.