This fifth volume in the Mission and Education series grapples with the question of how to frame a re-imagined understanding of formation for the Catholic educator and leader.

If you are a principal, staff member, parent, parish leader or someone in the community who believes in the potential of Catholic education, this book seeks to explore the religious identity question that is so critical in our schools.

This book arose from commissioned research by the National Catholic Education Commission (NCEC) on the alignment and effectiveness of 'A Framework for Formation for Mission in Catholic Education' (NCEC, 2017). It articulates contemporary best practice, and traces the experience of the Catholic Church in pursuing formation as integral to mission. This book also reviews and reports on formation within the context of the Catholic school. Its research validates ‘The Framework’ in Catholic education, and provides a complementary narrative for enhancing formation alignment and effectiveness, specifically with a focus on the Catholic school, but also with implications for formation in the wider context of ministry applications. This book is developed based on three questions, which also serve as thematic chapters that structure the narrative: what is the context and culture in which formation occurs; how is formation presented and enacted within the Australian context; and how can the understanding and practice of formation be advanced beyond its context and culture, policy, programs and ‘The Framework’ principles.

This book shares global perspectives on Catholic religious education in schools, chiefly focusing on educational and curriculum issues that take into account the theology and the pedagogy which support learning in connection with Catholic religious education. Further, it offers insights into the distinctive contribution that Catholic religious education makes to religious education and education in general across diverse schooling contexts. Bringing together insights from leading scholars and experts on Catholic religious education around the globe, the book offers an essential reference guide for all those involved in researching, planning and designing curricula for Catholic religious education, as well as developing related theories in the field.

The essays in this very timely volume, each in its own way, journey with Joseph. The discerning reader will enjoy the richness and variety of Joseph's legacy as seen through the eyes of the writers, who bear the title Josephite and who generously share their knowledge, experience, reflection and prayer of this saint, whom Julian Tenison Woods calls 'the Prince of God's House who was among the poorest of men and hidden with Mary and Jesus' (4 September, 1887). Sister Lauretta Baker rsj, Congregational Leader, Sisters of St. Joseph, Lochinvar Who better than the Josephites to give us an "inside" look at the character who gave early shape to Jesus' Jewish life and spirituality. When Mary MacKillop and Julian Woods were establishing a new religious group in Australia, why did they turn to Joseph as their identity-marker? Human aspirations, Gospel verses, and ancient legends all met to sow the seeds that would flourish in this soil, and be known with respect and gratitude as "the Joeys." Professor Mary Coloe, pbvm. Yarra Theological Union, University of Divinity, Melbourne. It is often said that 'actions speak louder than words. In the case of St Joseph this is so true. With no recorded utterances in the Scriptures, we have only to rely on his deeds. Journeying with Joseph is a timely publication not only for the Year of St Joseph, but one which allows us to delve more deeply into how we might draw inspiration from him to follow more closely the path of being a missionary Disciple, in a world deeply affected by COVID. The net is cast well and wide when you survey the topics contained in this book, and these show that while St Joseph may not have spoken any words, his deeds were, and are, profound. Patrick O'Regan DD, Archbishop of Adelaide, (Josephite Companion).

In this first volume of the Mission and Education series, Australian Catholic educators Jim and Therese D'Orsa invite and assist colleagues to become 'grassroots' theologians themselves.

A down-to-earth and deeply intimate portrait of Pope Francis and his faith, based on interviews with the men and women who knew him simply as Jorge Mario Bergoglio Early on the evening of March 13, 2013, the newly elected Pope Francis stepped out onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica and did something remarkable: Before he imparted his blessing to the crowd, he asked the crowd to bless him, then bowed low to receive this grace. In the days that followed, Mark K. Shriver—along with the rest of the world—was astonished to see a pope who paid his own hotel bill, eschewed limousines, and made his home in a suite of austere rooms in a Vatican guesthouse rather than the grand papal apartment in the Apostolic Palace. By setting an example of humility and accessibility, Francis breathed new life into the Catholic Church, attracting the admiration of Catholics and non-Catholics alike. In Pilgrimage, Shriver retraces Francis’s personal journey, revealing the origins of his open, unpretentious style and explaining how it revitalized Shriver’s own faith and renewed his commitment to the Church. To help us understand how Jorge Mario Bergoglio became Pope Francis, Shriver travels to Bergoglio’s native Argentina to meet with the people who knew him as a child, as a young Jesuit priest, and as a reformist bishop. Shriver visits the confessional where Bergoglio first felt called to a faith-based life and takes us to the humble parish where the future pontiff’s pastoral career began: in a church created from a converted vegetable shed in an area just outside the city of Buenos Aires. In these impoverished surroundings, Bergoglio answered Christ’s call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and shelter the homeless, following the example set by his papal namesake, St. Francis of Assisi. In this deeply reported yet highly personal book, Mark K. Shriver explores how Francis's commitment has struck a chord in the hearts of millions who long to make faith, love, humility, and mercy part of their lives as they go out into the world to serve and learn from the most marginalized. Praise for Pilgrimage “Well-researched . . . Pilgrimage shines a light on [Pope Francis’s] unexplored aspects. . . . A very timely and important addition to the literature on the life and person and thinking of Pope Francis. Everybody interested in Pope Francis will enjoy reading this biography.”—The Washington BookReview “Apt to stir the soul of readers . . . While this is a rich telling of Bergoglio’s life and ascension to the papacy, it is more movingly a spiritual memoir that draws us deep into a knowing of this at once humble and soul-stirring rekindler of faith.”—Chicago Tribune “A fascinating portrait of a man and a nourishing account of spiritual yearning.”—Booklist “This fast-paced and fascinating tale takes us on Jorge Mario Bergoglio’s pilgrimage from his grandmother’s knee in the Italian-Argentine community, through years of success and sorrow in the tumultuous country that he loved, to his surprise election as Pope Francis.”—Cokie Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848–1868 “All people of good faith, including those whose lives are not guided by religious beliefs, will be inspired and enlightened by the compelling manner in which Pilgrimage brings us closer to the heart and mind of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Pope Francis. I highly recommend this book; it will make a difference in your life.”—Cardinal Seán O’Malley, OFM Cap.

This book explains how, in a modern world where Catholicism reworks and reconstructs its methodology in the interests of pastoral care, evangelism, and Christian Education, religious education is moving forward successfully to meet the needs of Australian families