St Mary’s Senior Lecturer at Private Audience with the Holy Father

Dr John Lydon, Senior Lecturer in Catholic School Leadership and Director for the Catholic Certificate in Religious Studies at St Mary’s University, Twickenham, recently visited the Vatican for a meeting of the Executive and Council of the World Union of Catholic Teachers (WUCT), where he was also invited to a private audience with the Holy Father. In addition to addressing the four-day meeting in his role as Executive Treasurer of WUTC, the only organisation representing Catholic teachers recognised by the Vatican, Dr Lydon also delivered a paper on a recent Vatican document entitled 'Educating to Intercultural Dialogue in Catholic Schools'. During the meeting, the WUCT Executive was invited to visit the Congregation for Catholic Education, where they were received by the Prefect Cardinal Grocholewski and the Secretary Archbishop Zani who, in their address to the World Union, both spoke of the importance of WUCT in the context of the formation of future Catholic school leaders and teachers. Dr Lydon addressed officials and spoke about the programmes offered at St Mary’s, whilst the Congregation also expressed their wish for the WUCT to be involved with its celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council document on Christian Education, which will take place in Rome in November 2015. During the Council meeting, members were invited by the Prefect of the Pontifical Household to a private audience with the Holy Father in the Vatican’s Consistory Hall. During the audience Dr Lydon presented to the Holy Father a copy of his book The Contemporary Catholic Teacher: A Reappraisal of the Concept of Teaching as a Vocation in the Catholic Christian Context. Pope Francis said that it was an appropriate title for someone involved in the formation of teachers.