Pastoral Care in School and Universities
International Congress
Dicastery for Culture and Education
Vatican City, 22–23 October 2026
The Dicastery for Culture and Education is promoting the International Congress on School and University Pastoral Care, to be held in the Vatican on 22–23 October 2026, on the theme "Drawing New Maps of Hope."
The two-day event will offer a space for listening, reflection and dialogue on some of the key challenges facing education and pastoral care today: cultivating interiority, human-centred digital culture, and educating for peace. The programme will include conferences, round tables, testimonies and experiences from a variety of international contexts. Among the significant moments of the first day, an Audience with Pope Leo XIV is also scheduled.
The Congress is addressed to all those engaged in the fields of schools, universities and educational pastoral care.
Following the opening remarks by Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, Prefect of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, the programme will continue with sessions of listening, reflection and dialogue structured around keynote conferences:
- Cultivating Interiority, moderated by H.E. Archbishop Carlo Maria Polvani;
- Human-Centred Digital Culture, moderated by H.E. Bishop Paul Tighe;
- Educating for Peace, moderated by Msgr Matthias Ambros.
Registration is open until 30 September 2026, and the participation fee is €50.
The full programme and all information on how to participate are available on the website of the Dicastery for Culture and Education, where the programme can be consulted in Italian, English, German, Spanish, French and Portuguese.