Cardinal to catechists: If your faith isn’t meaningful to you, it won’t be to your students

Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa presents a Bible to a catechism teacher on Sept. 27, 2025, in Galilee. / Credit: Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 30, 2025 / 18:02 pm (CNA).

Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, at a recent Mass he celebrated told the catechism teachers at the patriarchate’s schools that if faith is not meaningful in their lives, then it will not be meaningful in the lives of their students either. 

The prelate offered the Mass on Saturday, Sept. 27, at St. Joseph’s Church in the town of Shafa’amr, Galilee. The parish’s priest, Father Ramez Twal, and Father Ibrahim Shomali, director of the patriarchate’s schools in Galilee, concelebrated the Eucharist.

Shomali told those present that “today, for the first time, we celebrate this special occasion that gives our schools a spiritual dimension, the very foundation of our educational mission.”

“The presence of his beatitude the cardinal among us today embodies the presence of the first teacher for all of us, Jesus Christ,” he added.

The patriarch’s homily

In his sermon, Pizzaballa emphasized that “the role of the catechism teacher is no less important than that of any other teacher. It carries a unique mission that requires facing challenges to preserve our Christian identity and deepen the awareness of our children.”

After noting that teaching catechism seeks to form new generations in faith, hope, and love, the cardinal emphasized that “catechesis means to encounter Jesus and to love him more. As teachers, you are witnesses to this faith; if it is not alive and meaningful in your own life, it will not be meaningful to your students.”

“You are called to see each student and recognize their dignity and worth, unlike the rich man who failed see Lazarus,” the cardinal noted, referring to the Gospel account of the wealthy man who feasted daily and did not share what he had with poor Lazarus, who when he died was saved, while the wealthy man was not.

Pizzaballa thanked all the teachers for their dedication and service to the Church’s mission, encouraging them to continue spreading the Gospel and the teachings of Jesus to their students.

At the end of the Mass, the teachers renewed their baptismal promises and received a copy of the Bible, marking a new beginning in their educational and spiritual journey of transmitting the faith and being witnesses of it to others, especially their students. 

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.