A renewed call to anchor education in faith while shaping purposeful, value-driven learners defined the opening of the 12th edition of the Catholic Private Educational Institutions Association of Kenya (CaPEIA-K) Conference.
Delivering his welcome address, Nicholas K. Muasya, National Executive Secretary of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) Commission for Education and Religious Education, set the tone for a gathering framed not merely as an academic forum, but as a strategic convergence of mission and meaning.
Held under the theme “Catholic Schools: Rooted in Faith, Rising with Purpose,” the conference brought together bishops, education secretaries, religious education advisors, and heads of Catholic institutions from across the country.
Muasya described the annual conference as a defining moment of reflection and recalibration, an institutional pause to “relook at our past and focus on our future,” grounded in a shared divine mandate to shape minds, hearts, and souls.
He emphasized that Catholic education must transcend conventional metrics of performance, positioning itself as a holistic enterprise that integrates spiritual formation with intellectual growth. “We are not here by coincidence,” he said. “We are here because God has called us to a shared mission, to be stewards of the minds, hearts, and souls entrusted to our care.”
Drawing inspiration from Pope Leo XIV and his apostolic letter Drawing New Maps of Hope, Muasya underscored the need for an education system that harmonizes professionalism with ethics, and knowledge with conscience. He highlighted that true Catholic pedagogy resists reducing education to mere functionality, instead measuring its value through dignity, justice, and service to the common good.
Referencing the enduring intellectual legacy of Saint John Henry Newman, he challenged educators to reject a purely utilitarian approach to learning. “Education is not about producing workers,” he noted, “but about forming human beings, men and women who live with purpose, compassion, and faith.”
The address further unpacked the conference theme, defining what it means to be “rooted in faith” as grounding all educational practice in the life and teachings of Christ, while “rising with purpose” calls for nurturing learners to fulfill their God-given vocation in service to society and the Church.
Quoting Jeremiah 29:11, Muasya reminded delegates that Catholic education participates in God’s broader plan, one that offers hope and a future to every child. He urged educators to recommit to forming the whole person, body, mind, and soul, ensuring that spiritual development remains inseparable from academic excellence.
The conference, hosted in collaboration with the Catholic Private Educational Institutions Association of Kenya and supported by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, continues to serve as a vital platform for strengthening the identity and mission of Catholic education in Kenya.
As the sessions unfold, the message is clear: Catholic schools must not only adapt to a changing world but lead itfirmly rooted in faith, and boldly rising with purpose.
By Rose Achiego Ande
