Recently, Pope Francis turned his thoughts to teachers, thanking them for their work that he defines as a “mission”. In a very short time, over 1,000 retweets were made and the papal message went viral, reaching many, and not just teachers.

The Pope’s love of young people and education has long been expressed by Bergoglio himself. We should remember that with his enthusiasm he managed to get almost 300,000 students, teachers, and parents involved in the Church for the Schools event held last May 10. The event, which will remain in the memory of all of those who participated, emphasized the interest of the Catholic Church and the Pope towards the theme of schooling and education.

In an article published on the site OrizzonteScuola.it  last 10 May, the pope made some very affectionate statements about teaching:

“I love the school because it is synonymous with openness towards reality, at this is how it should be. Going to school means opening one’s mind and one’s heart to reality, in all of its aspects. And we have no right to be afraid of reality, school teaches us to understand this, and this is so beautiful.

And teachers are the first ones who must remain open to reality, with their minds always open to learning, otherwise they are not good teachers and they are not interesting. Young people understand this, they have intuition and are attracted to teachers who have an unfinished thought and are trying to get more from and infect their students with it.”

The Pope’s tweet is very clear and concise: education gets young people closer to good, beauty, and the truth.

It is important to reflect on the fact that Pope Bergoglio chose to use social networks, more specifically Twitter, to spread his message and his affection towards teachers, who must be a guide for students.

Thank you to all teachers: educating is an important mission, which draws young people to what is good, beautiful and true.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) 3 Giugno 2014