ORLANDO | More than 1,200 teachers, administrators and Catholic schools staff gathered Aug. 6, 2026, at the Rosen Centre to pray and celebrate the start of a new school year.
Erika Wikstrom, superintendent and secretary for education, shared the theme for the year — “Drawing New Maps of Hope,” which is drawn from the title of Pope Leo XIV’s apostolic letter. Drawing from his words, Wikstrom said every student who walks into the classroom is “a face, a story, a vocation.”
In the letter, the pope reminds educators they form the fabric of evangelization saying: “It is the concrete way in which the Gospel becomes an educational gesture, a relationship, a culture.” Wikstrom shared the metaphor the pope used to describe Catholic schools — “a constellation,” a network of schools, classrooms and ministries, each shining with its own brightness, together charting a course no single star could chart alone.
Acknowledging the challenges of living in an “increasingly complex, fragmented, and digitized” world, she assured, “where educational communities allow themselves to be guided by the word of Christ, they do not retreat nor do they grow weaker; instead, they are revitalized. They become the hope this world needs.”
She outlined three priorities for the year: inner life-creating space for silence, discernment and dialogue for students, between their conscience and God; a humane digital culture — educating “the wise use of AI and technology” and always placing “the person before the algorithm and harmonize technical, emotional, social, spiritual, and ecological forms of intelligence”; and a peaceful environment that builds bridges and speaks mercy and justice.
Gerald Cattaro, professor of education and executive director of the Center for Catholic School Leadership and Faith-Based Education at Fordham University’s Graduate School of Education, presented the keynote address. As a consultor for the Vatican’s Congregation for Catholic Education, he shared the importance of remembering Bishop John Noonan’s episcopal motto — “God before me and God with me.” He reminded teachers this is essential to achieve any mission in Catholic school. He reminded them their vocation is guided by God and they are never alone.
After the celebration of Mass, Wikstrom bestowed the Jenni Heneghan Award to Philip Gorrasi, principal of St. Brendan the Navigator School in Ormond Beach.
The St. Teresa of Calcutta Award for Faith in Action went to Holy Family Catholic School in Orlando and Santa Fe High School in Lakeland. Each year one elementary school and one high school is honored for helping students to live the corporal works of mercy in real, tangible ways in their communities.
Holy Family is recognized for their Saintly Service Project. Highlighting the corporal works of mercy, each class assisted in sheltering the homeless with handmade care bags, feeding and clothing local families through Catholic Charities, comforting the imprisoned and lonely with rosaries and senior home visits, and serving the global Church alongside Catholic Relief Services and Cross Catholic Outreach.
Santa Fe High School wrapped “children in two local migrant communities in the warmth of Christian charity.” Driven by the Gospel and the spirit of St. Teresa of Calcutta, these students did small things with great love. They raised funds, purchased books and toys, and hand-wrapped every gift. The mission transformed the students by affirming the sacred dignity of agricultural worker families and living out true solidarity with the vulnerable.