A leading Church official in Singapore urged Catholic schools to assess their excellence not only through academic achievement but through the spiritual formation of students.
“Can a Catholic school say: we are excellent when it comes to the spiritual formation of our students?” asked Cardinal William Goh in his homily at the Commencement of School Year Mass at the Cathedral of the Good Shepherd.
Addressing about 500 school leaders, staff, students and members of governing bodies, the prelate said Catholic schools must serve the mission of the Church and contribute to the building of the Kingdom of God, even as they strive for excellence in other fields.
Marking the Sunday of the Word of God, the cardinal emphasized that Catholic educators must themselves be grounded in Scripture to inspire colleagues and students to encounter the Gospel.
“Gospel values must permeate everything that we do, explicitly and implicitly,” he said.
During the Mass, four newly appointed principals of Catholic schools were commissioned. Each received a lighted candle from Cardinal Goh symbolizing the light of Christ.
They were Ms. Teo Yen Li of Marymount Preschool, Mrs. Rachel Lee of Montfort Secondary School, Mr. Aloysius Ting of St. Patrick’s School and Ms. Genevieve Chye of Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus Secondary.
Reflecting on the homily, Mrs. Lee said Catholic education places formation at its core.
“Catholic education, as the Cardinal affirmed, is ultimately about formation – guiding young people not only to learn well, but to develop compassion and live with faith and purpose,” she said.
After Communion, 21 newly appointed vice principals were introduced. All principals and vice principals present then prayed a prayer of commitment led by Catholic Junior College principal Mrs. Woo Soo Min, chair of the Council of Catholic Schools’ Principals.
Cardinal Goh also thanked Dr. Koh Thiam Seng, who chaired the Archdiocesan Commission for Catholic Schools until the end of 2025, and introduced the new chair, Ms. Vivienne Lim.
Several participants said the message resonated with their experience in Catholic education.
Mr. John Jegathesan, a teacher at CHIJ Katong Convent, said, “The call by the Cardinal to bring the Word of God to our Catholic students and not to apologise for our Catholic faith inspires me to share the Gospel more with my students.”
Mikayla Lucia Thomas, a Secondary 4 student at St. Anthony’s Canossian Secondary School, said Catholic education plays a vital role in shaping students for life.
“With proper nurturing, we students are able to go into life imbued with the values of the Gospel,” she said.
Cardinal Goh called for unity among Catholic schools across different congregations, echoing a theme raised at the Catholic Education Summit last November.
“Although we are from different congregations with different charisms, we have only one Catholic mission, we have only one Gospel. All of us must work for the same Gospel according to the charisms that the Lord has given us,” he said.
