«DIVINI ILLIUS MAGISTRI». – Encyclical of Pius XI, dated 31 Dec. 1929 (AAS, 22 [1930], pp. 49–86), concerning the Christian education of youth. The subject, of capital importance in the field of pedagogy and, at the same time, of religion, is masterfully treated in this document, which may be called the “magna charta” of the educator.
The encyclical addresses four questions: 1) Who is responsible for education? a) First of all, the Church, by divine positive right, insofar as she has been specifically entrusted by Jesus Christ with the mission of teaching and regenerating souls to supernatural life; mother and teacher, she has educated peoples, often alone, gathering the finest fruits of morality and civilization; b) the family also, by natural right, derived directly from the fact of generation; and this right is inalienable, prior to every right of the State, and therefore inviolable; c) the State also, by virtue of the authority incumbent upon it to provide for the temporal common good of the community. It must therefore protect the educational right of the Church and of the family, make up for the parents’ shortcomings, and remove public obstacles to a sound education; and it has the right to reserve certain branches of instruction to itself, indeed to complete the work of the family and the Church where these do not reach or are insufficient, through its own schools and institutions. To safeguard these rights, the coordination of the three societies is naturally necessary. 2) Who is the subject of education? It is man “in his entirety,” body and spirit, fallen through sin and redeemed by Christ. Education therefore cannot be merely natural, but must also be supernatural, without ignoring Grace and the divine law. 3) What is the setting of education? a) The family, with its vigilance and care; b) the Church, with her Sacraments and institutions; c) works of vigilance and preservation, today more especially necessary than in former times. 4) What is the end of education? The formation not merely of man, but of the Christian; education must therefore embrace the whole sphere of human life,
form integral and complete characters, taking as its model the incomparable examples of Jesus Christ.