Education of Children Prior to the Time of Christ

In ancient China, the first educational system began during the Xia Dynasty. Later, Zhou Dynasty schools focused on training young men to serve the king. Ancient Egypt is credited with the invention of writing and with the earliest records of formalized education (c. 2000 BC). The world’s oldest university, in Alexandria, dates to 300 BC. Ancient India’s caste system dictated one’s education. In ancient Mesopotamia, cuneiform script was written by a small number of scribes and wealthy families formally educated. Later, Babylon boasted libraries, where both men and women learned to read and write.

The education of ancient Greece was largely formalized by the 5th century BC. Tuition-based, the classical system of Athens included physical education, music, and grammar. Well-known educators include Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Boys attended school until 14–15 years old, and girls received formal instruction in religious rituals. The Spartan system was state-organized and emphasized military training from ages 7–18; violence was encouraged to weed out weaker boys. After graduation, men would continue at private institutions, becoming soldiers at age 20. Spartan women were also educated by the state, with a heavy focus on physical education and athletics in order to provide strong babies and future soldiers, but they also studied music and dance. The Pythagorean system educated both men and women, emphasized mathematics, and incorporated secretive, unusual practices (such as not being allowed to eat beans). Based on the Greek system, education in ancient Rome (for both boys and girls) developed into a formal system during the height of the Roman Empire. Fathers were expected to educate their children or have them educated; tutors were common. Politicians were expected to have a robust education. Roman instruction was pragmatic and found the Greek emphasis on music and athletics unnecessary. The Roman phases of education included Ludus (primary school: reading and writing); Grammaticus (Greek, poetry, apprenticeships); and Rhetor (higher education for a select few: rhetoric, law, geography, geometry, literature). The wealthiest elite might complete their education by studying philosophy in Greece. In the Old Testament, parents in ancient Israel were instructed to teach their children the Shema Israel and to recite the Scriptures. All Jewish people were commanded to read and study the Torah. No word for school can be found in the Hebrew language prior to the 2nd century BC. Hebrew scribal culture created the written Bible and practiced recordkeeping; young men sat in courts of Jewish law; education occurred mainly through family-based apprenticeships. Literacy rates were relatively high for the ancient world. Public schools were established in AD 64 throughout Judea. Boys and girls were traditionally educated separately, with girls learning more practical skills.

How Jesus Was Educated

While we only know a few stories from the infancy and youth of Jesus, we know that he was brought up in Nazareth in the Jewish culture, meaning that he would have been steeped in the Scriptures and tradition. He was raised in a poor family – as seen by the type of temple offerings they could afford – but the Holy Family raised him faithfully and would have had him educated. St. Joseph was a tekton (builder-craftsman, or carpenter), and it was common for a son to learn the trade of his father. Jesus could read, as evidenced by his reading aloud from the scroll announcing the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecy. Although Jesus, the Incarnate Son of God, created all knowledge and wisdom, he showed true humility by coming to us as a baby and submitting to human teachers.

Education in the Church

After Jesus gave the Great Commission before ascending into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, the Church now had the task of educating people in the faith. Here’s a look at the development of faith formation:

AD 55–100: Baptism preparation is brief and varied; the Didache (The Lord’s Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles) considered to be an early catechism, is mentioned by several of the Church Fathers

100–200: Formal catechumenate begins

200–400: Three-year structured catechumenate program in place

312: Constantine becomes Christian; solid catechesis becomes strained with the large numbers of conversions

400s: The focus on infant initiation begins; Confirmation and Eucharist preparation starts to separate from Baptism

500s: The first cathedral schools are established as new dioceses are created

789: Charlemagne decrees that schools are to be established in every diocese and bishopric, with a focus on reading, Psalms, chanting, computation, and grammar

1100s: Catechumenate all but gone, apart from those in monastic formation

1206–1216: Dominican Order – with an emphasis on study and teaching/preaching – founded, first with women, then with men

1265–1273: St. Thomas Aquinas writes the Summa Theologiae, marking an era that emphasizes philosophy and Scholasticism in the Church

1455: With the advent of the printing press, Johannes Gutenberg prints the first Catholic Bible using the Latin Vulgate

1500s: Large groups of Baptisms without much formation

1535: Ursuline Order founded, focused on educating young girls and women

1545–1563: The Council of Trent clarifies many doctrinal teachings that came under scrutiny during the Protestant Reformation, also reaffirming the canon of Scripture and establishing the modern seminary model

1566: The Roman Catechism (Catechism of the Council of Trent) commissioned and published

1606: First Catholic school in America established in St. Augustine, FL, by Franciscan friars

1824: Pope Leo XII places the Catholic educational system under the jurisdiction of the Jesuits

1831: Sisters of Mercy, with an emphasis on primary and secondary education, founded

1852: St. John Neumann founds the first Catholic diocesan school system in the United States

1878: Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) begin to use catechumenal process in Africa

1884–1885: The Baltimore Catechism commissioned and published

1920s–1930s: The first Catholic radio broadcasting stations emerge, making evangelization possible across the airwaves; Pope Pius XI becomes the first pope to be on the radio

1943: Pope Pius XII issues Mystici Corporis Christi, reaffirming the condemnation of forced conversions when making disciples

1963: Vatican II bishops mandate the full restoration of the catechumenate

1972: Pope Paul VI approves order of adult initiation (in Latin; English approved two years later)

1986–1992: The Catechism of the Catholic Church drafted and promulgated

1988: Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) becomes mandatory; updated to Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) by the USCCB in 2021

Recent Vatican Encyclicals and Other Church Documents

Spectata Fides, Pope Leo XIII, 1885:
“In these days, and in the present condition of the world, when the tender age of childhood is threatened on every side by so many and such various dangers, hardly anything can be imagined more fitting than the union with literary instruction of sound teaching in faith and morals.…You see, therefore Venerable Brethren, with what earnest forethought parents must beware of intrusting their children to schools in which they cannot receive religious teaching.”

Acerbo Nimis, Pope Pius X, 1905:
“It is a common complaint, unfortunately too well founded, that there are large numbers of Christians in our own time who are entirely ignorant of those truths necessary for salvation.…Thus wrote the Apostle: ‘Faith then depends on hearing, and hearing on the word of Christ’; and to show the necessity of instruction, he added, ‘How are they to hear, if no one preaches?’…On every Sunday and holy day, with no exception, throughout the year, all parish priests and in general all those having the care of souls shall instruct the boys and girls, for the space of an hour from the text of the Catechism on those things they must believe and do in order to attain salvation.…Let classes in religion be organized to instruct in the truths of faith and in the practice of Christian life the youths who attend the public schools from which all religious teaching is banned.”

Divini Illius Magistri, Pope Pius XI, 1929:
“But nothing discloses to us the supernatural beauty and excellence of the work of Christian education better than the sublime expression of love of our Blessed Lord, identifying Himself with children, ‘Whosoever shall receive one such child as this in my name, receiveth me.’…Education is essentially a social and not a mere individual activity. Now there are three necessary societies, distinct from one another and yet harmoniously combined by God, into which man is born: two, namely the family and civil society, belong to the natural order; the third, the Church, to the supernatural order.…And first of all education belongs preeminently to the Church, by reason of a double title in the supernatural order, conferred exclusively upon her by God Himself; absolutely superior therefore to any other title in the natural order.”

Gravissimum Educationis, Decree on Christian Education, Second Vatican Council, 1965:
“The Sacred Ecumenical Council has considered with care how extremely important education is in the life of man and how its influence ever grows in the social progress of this age.…All men of every race, condition and age, since they enjoy the dignity of a human being, have an inalienable right to an education that is in keeping with their ultimate goal, their ability, their sex, and the culture and tradition of their country, and also in harmony with their fraternal association with other peoples in the fostering of true unity and peace on earth. For a true education aims at the formation of the human person in the pursuit of his ultimate end and of the good of the societies of which, as man, he is a member, and in whose obligations, as an adult, he will share.…Since parents have given children their life, they are bound by the most serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be recognized as the primary and principal educators.…The family which has the primary duty of imparting education needs help of the whole community.…Finally, in a special way, the duty of educating belongs to the Church, not merely because she must be recognized as a human society capable of educating, but especially because she has the responsibility of announcing the way of salvation to all men, of communicating the life of Christ to those who believe, and, in her unfailing solicitude, of assisting men to be able to come to the fullness of this life.…Among all educational instruments the school has a special importance.”

Meeting with Catholic Educators, Address of Pope Benedict XVI, 2008:
“Teachers and administrators, whether in universities or schools, have the duty and privilege to ensure that students receive instruction in Catholic doctrine and practice. This requires that public witness to the way of Christ, as found in the Gospel and upheld by the Church’s Magisterium, shapes all aspects of an institution’s life, both inside and outside the classroom. Divergence from this vision weakens Catholic identity and, far from advancing freedom, inevitably leads to confusion, whether moral, intellectual or spiritual.”

The Importance of Education Found in Scripture

Proverbs 9:9: Instruct the wise, and they become still wiser; teach the just, and they advance in learning. The beginning of wisdom is fear of the LORD, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 22:6: Train the young in the way they should go; even when old, they will not swerve from it.

Ephesians 6:1-4: Children, obey your parents [in the Lord], for this is right. “Honor your father and mother.” This is the first commandment with a promise, “that it may go well with you and that you may have a long life on earth.” Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up with the training and instruction of the Lord.

The Bible's Emphasis on Teaching the Truth

Luke 17:2: It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.

2 Corinthians 11:13-15: For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, who masquerade as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.

James 3:1-5: Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you realize that we will be judged more strictly, for we all fall short in many respects.

The Saints on the Importance of Education

“What is nobler than to rule minds or to mold the character of the young? I consider that he who knows how to form the youthful mind is truly greater than all the painters, sculptors, and all others of that sort.”
—St. John Chrysostom

“Do you desire to study to your advantage? Let devotion accompany all your studies, and study less to make yourself learned than to become a saint. Consult God more than your books, and ask him, with humility, to make you understand what you read.”
—St. Vincent Ferrer

“Teaching is a noble profession that shapes the character, intellect, and souls of future generations.”
—St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

“The greatest sign of success for a teacher...is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’”
—St. Maria Faustina Kowalska

“The person who thirsts for God eagerly studies and meditates on the inspired Word, knowing that there he is certain to find the One for whom he thirsts.”
—St. Bernard of Clairvaux

“O Lord, if I could fly to my people and tell them of your Goodness at the top of my voice: oh, how many souls would be won!”
—St. Josephine Bakhita

History of Our Present-Day Diocesan Schools

1845: St. Vincent’s Academy, Savannah, founded; six Sisters of Mercy from Charleston, SC, are the first faculty

1868: St. Joseph’s Academy, Columbus, founded by Sisters of Mercy, merging 140 years later to become St. Anne-Pacelli School

1872: St. Joseph’s School, Macon, founded

1876: Invited by Bishop William Gross, the Sisters of St. Joseph start St. Joseph’s Academy for Young Ladies in Washington, GA, which later moves to Augusta; Mount de Sales Academy, Macon, previously Academy of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (est. 1871), founded by Sisters of Mercy as a girls’ boarding school – the oldest independent school in the region, it is also the first (1963) in middle Georgia to racially integrate

1900: St. Joseph’s School, Brunswick, founded by Sisters of St. Joseph, becoming St. Francis Xavier School with the construction of a larger facility in 1955

1902: Benedictine Military School, Savannah, founded by Benedictines

1903: St. Peter Claver School, Macon, founded – and funded – by St. Katharine Drexel; from 1999 administered by Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul

1913: Immaculate Conception Academy, Augusta – primarily serving the African American community – founded by African Missionary Fathers, absorbing Franciscan Sisters girls’ boarding school established in 1902

1915: Mount St. Joseph Academy – founded in 1876 by Sisters of St. Joseph as St. Joseph’s Academy for Young Ladies in Washington, GA – opens in Augusta, later forming part of other Catholic schools in the city

1939: Blessed Sacrament School, Savannah, founded by Fr. James H. Conlin with assistance from Sr. Mary Stella Maris of Sisters of Mercy; Boys’ Catholic High School, Augusta – originally founded in 1919 as Marist School for Boys, Savannah – established by Br. Nicholas Mary

1941: St. John School the Evangelist School, Valdosta, founded

1951: Nativity School, Thunderbolt, founded, staffed by Sisters of Mercy, later becoming St. Peter the Apostle, Savannah

1955: Sacred Heart School, Warner Robins, founded, using a surplus military barrack for a building; St. Francis Xavier School, Brunswick, founded from St. Joseph’s School (est. 1900)

1956: St. James School, Savannah, founded by Bishop Thomas J. McDonough and staffed by Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary

1957: Aquinas High School, Augusta – a merger of Boys’ Catholic High School (dating to 1919) and the all-girls Mount St. Joseph Academy (dating to 1876) – founded; operating with separate classes for boys and girls, the school is run by six Marist Brothers and six Sisters of St. Joseph, becoming co-educational in 1969

1958: Pacelli High School (originally Holy Family High School), Columbus, founded by Msgr. Herman J. Deimel, named in honor of Pius XII (Eugenio Pacelli)

1960: Mount St. Joseph Academy, Augusta – operating as an elementary school since partly merging with Boys’ Catholic High School to form Aquinas High School, in 1957 – becomes St. Mary on the Hill School

1961: St. Anne School, Columbus – founded as the lower school of Holy Family School, in 1952 (originally St. Joseph’s Academy, dating to 1868) is named after the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary once the parish is established

1989: St. Peter the Apostle School, Savannah, founded, changing its name from Nativity School after construction of a new facility

2008: St. Anne School and Pacelli High School combine to form St. Anne–Pacelli School, Columbus, with a preschool opening in 2015

2015: Immaculate Conception School, Augusta – with roots going back to the Franciscan Sisters school established in 1902 and the African Missionary Fathers school established in 1913 – becomes the first and only fully inclusive special education school in the diocese, under the leadership of  
Fr. Jacek Szuster

An expanded version of the history of our diocesan schools is available here.