Transmission of the charism: a major challenge for Catholic education

In a recent address to Catholic educators in the USA (Washington DC, April 2008), Pope Benedict XVI spoke of founders and foundresses of religious orders who 'with great tenacity and foresight, laid the foundations of what is today a remarkable network of parochial schools contributing to the spiritual well-being of the Church and the nation'. This article will attempt to explore the extent to which it is possible to maintain such founding charisms in an era marked by a steep decline in the number of religious in schools. It will begin with a discussion of the term charism. The article will then go on to articulate the nature of the Salesian charism as an exemplar, before investigating the extent to which it is possible to maintain such distinctive charisms in the current demographical context of the Catholic Church highlighted recently in the latest Vatican document on Catholic education.