Gerald M. Cattaro, Ed.D., executive director of the Center for Catholic School Leadership and Faith-Based Education and professor at the Graduate School of Education, was appointed by Pope Francis as one of two new consultors for the Congregation for Catholic Education on April 25. 

“I’m very humbled by the recognition of Pope Francis,” said Cattaro. “It’s a recognition of all the work we do at the Graduate School of Education and the University with our national and global partners. It’s also a great responsibility because we have to safeguard the mission of Catholic education.” 

The Congregation for Catholic Education is a pontifical organization that promotes and organizes Catholic education across the world. In his new role as consultor, Cattaro will offer policy recommendations for the global Catholic school community. Cattaro is the first layperson from the U.S. to be appointed to the position, and he is one of two consultors from the U.S., in addition to Cardinal Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, said Cattaro. 

Cattaro has more than 30 years of experience in preparing Catholic school leaders, from principals to superintendents to deans. He also serves on several national and international governing boards, editorial boards, and educational commissions. 

At Fordham, he runs the Center for Catholic School Leadership and Faith-Based Education, which has trained educators from multiple faith-based schools and organizations for more than three decades. In 2019, he helped host the World Congress of Catholic Education, a global conference that brought a thousand delegates from Catholic schools worldwide to the Lincoln Center campus, and the fifth International Scholas Chairs Congress, an international conference that united more than 100 scholars on campus to discuss how education could promote social change. Cattaro is a Scholas Occurrentes ambassador who oversees the three designated Scholas Chairs in the United States—at Fordham, Minnesota University, and John Carroll University. 

In 2009, Fordham News profiled his work on revitalizing Catholic schools. Before joining Fordham, he served as a principal for 18 years, a high school teacher, and a junior high school teacher. 

There are more than 200,000 Catholic schools across the world, said Cattaro. In the U.S. alone, there are more than 6,000 schools and 1.7 million students, according to the National Catholic Educational Association. 

“We have a lot to be proud of, especially with the number of schools that we have,” said Cattaro.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has created a new issue for Catholic schools across the world—simply maintaining them, now and after the pandemic has passed, said Cattaro. Many Catholic schools generate most of their income through student tuition, and thanks to the coronavirus, schools across the world might face lower rates of student retention and admission, he said.

“We’re going to have to put a seatbelt on next semester,” said Cattaro. “We’ll have a lot to work on.”  

“Education was not just a job,” said longtime colleague Kieran Scott, Ed.D. “It was a vocation for him that gave profound meaning to his life.”

He was “one of those rare individuals” who taught in two graduate schools at Fordham—the Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education (GRE) and the Graduate School of Education (GSE)—said Gerald M. Cattaro, Ed.D., executive director of the Center for Catholic School Leadership and Faith-Based Education. 

“He acted as the academic bridge between the two schools,” Cattaro said. “[And] John was a cherished colleague and mentor to me in my early academic career, in addition to being a friend.”

At GSE, he helped establish the Ph.D. program in educational leadership (now known as the Ph.D. in church and non-public school leadership). The program produced alumni who went on to become university presidents, bishops, vicars of education, and congregational and past presidents of high schools worldwide, said Cattaro. 

At GRE, Elias was a professor emeritus who was instrumental in shaping two doctoral programs: the Ph.D. in religious education and the Doctor of Ministry program.  

“He realized that to complement religious education, we needed to be doing a kind of theology that served our students in their professional practice,” said Thomas Beaudoin, Ph.D., professor of religion. “As a result of what he did, we hired more practical theologians, including our current dean.”

But Elias’ 35-year-long relationship with Fordham ran deeper than the programs he developed, said his colleagues. To Elias, Fordham was home. 

“The first phone call I got as the new dean of GRE three summers ago was from John,” said Faustino “Tito” Cruz, S.M., dean of GRE. “He simply wanted to welcome me to Fordham and express his appreciation that I accepted the leadership of the school that he dearly loved.”

‘A Real Gift’  

Elias was born on Dec. 23, 1933, in Asheville, North Carolina, to George and Josephine Elias. His early exposure to scholars in theology and education led him to become “one of the most significant writers in adult religious education of the 20th century,” said an online database of Christian educators of the 20th century. 

His life at Fordham began in 1977 when he started teaching as a visiting professor at GRE. Over the next four decades, he delivered more than 80 scholarly addresses, served on multiple doctoral dissertation committees, and mentored dozens of students. He taught at Fordham until he was 78, said one of his two daughters, Rebecca Elias, FCLC ’96. 

In phone interviews, his Fordham friends and colleagues described him as an affable, curious man who was easy to talk to. He was a “sage” who was politically savvy in academia and university life, said Gloria Durka, Ph.D., a retired GRE faculty member who knew Elias for more than three decades. With his wit and wry sense of humor, he put a twist on serious matters in the classroom. But perhaps above all, he was humble and respectful, said those who knew him. 

“[He was] a true colleague who represents everything that you would hope a colleague to be,” said Durka. “He was my closest colleague, all these years at Fordham. And that’s a real gift—to have someone like that.” 

Harold H. Horell, Ph.D., assistant professor of religious education, remembered Elias as a good listener. When Elias spoke, everyone in the room paid attention, he said. 

“He used to sit with his head cocked to his right side, with a thoughtful look on his face. And then after the discussion was over, he would speak,” recalled Horell, who also directs the Ph.D. in Religious Education program. “His words carried a lot of weight because they often rang true.” 

He was a brilliant scholar whose mind was “like a living card catalog,” said his past student Linda Baratte, GRE ’04.

“He set up the scaffolding, almost, in his coursework, and then invited you to do all the exploration and fill in all the gaps with his amazing research and resources he knew about,” Baratte said. “[But] he never wanted adulation, as much as he was worthy of it.” 

His Namesake: John Elias to Elias Gelpi 

Elias authored more than 15 books and hundreds of articles on religious education and social justice. His teaching, writing, and practices addressed three things: the university, the church, and society, said Kieran Scott, Ed.D., a retired GRE faculty member who co-developed the Ph.D. program in religious education with Elias. His writing gave “a vivid sense of history,” said Scott, and often addressed the life of the church—especially the religious education of adults. 

“He felt that it was critical to raise up a mature, intelligent form of religious life in the church,” Scott said. “[But] at the center of all his education was a concern for justice. He felt that justice was indispensable for a peaceful society.” 

Elias also advised dozens of students, from as far as Ireland, Africa, and South America. He invited them to his home for Thanksgiving and the Fourth of July so they could experience American holidays with an American family, said his daughter Rebecca at his funeral liturgy on Oct. 2. 

One student even named his son after Elias. 

David Gelpi, who earned both a master’s and a Ph.D. in religious education from Fordham, recalled the ways that Elias had shaped his life. In the first year of his Ph.D. program, he said, his older brother was killed in a car accident. Gelpi didn’t know how he could finish his degree. But Elias, in a “gentle” manner, convinced him to stay. 

Today, Gelpi is a religious studies teacher at Fordham Prep. His son Elias—named after his mentor—was born in the early 1990s, when Gelpi was in the midst of his master’s program. Now he is a firefighter in Yonkers, New York, Gelpi said. 

“[My son] quietly tries to put himself at the service of people in Yonkers, and I’d like to think that was something that John Elias helped to sharpen early on,” Gelpi said. 

‘We Will Never Forget the Way He Made Us Feel’

One of Elias’ longest mentees and friends, David L. Coppola, Ph.D., GSE ’98, gave a speech at Elias’ funeral liturgy at St. Vincent Martyr Church, where they had met 25 years ago. Elias had mentored Coppola in the Graduate School of Education, toasted Coppola at his wedding, and commemorated Coppola when he was installed as president of Keystone College in 2014. 

“No more emails, texts, or phone calls; no hand to hold; no warm embrace or spontaneous ‘Hellooohhh!’” Coppola said at the service. “But we will never forget the way he made us feel. And his witness of lifelong learning, embracing paradox, and selfless giving lives on in all of us.” 

Elias is survived by his wife of 47 years, Eleanor J. Flanigan, Ed.D., professor emerita at Montclair State University; two daughters, Rebecca and Rachel; and three grandchildren, Julia, Kayla, and Zachary. 

In lieu of flowers, charitable contributions may be made in John’s memory to the Fordham University Graduate School of Religion and Religious Education, Fordham University, Office of Development, 45 Columbus Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10023, or to the Sr. Regina Flanigan, IHM Fund at Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School, 1717 W Allegheny Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19132. 

A thousand delegates from Catholic schools across the world congregated at the Lincoln Center campus and nearby locations for the World Congress of Catholic Education, hosted by Fordham from June 5 to 8.  

“I cannot overestimate the importance of a Catholic education and your work in bringing that gift to the widest audience possible,” said Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, in his welcome message. “The schools and educators you represent do holy work every day, and in that work, they transform the lives of young people around the globe. Those young people in turn change the world.”

The four-day conference, sponsored by the Graduate School of Education’s Center for Catholic School Leadership and the Office of International Catholic Education, examined global education issues in collaboration with bishops, universities, and religious congregations throughout the world. 

At this year’s conference, delegates representing more than 85 countries and 200,000 Catholic schools were present. Several years ago, Gerald M. Cattaro, Ed.D., executive director of the Center for Catholic School Leadership and Faith-Based Education, led the U.S. delegation at the 2015 World Congress in Rome.

“The world conference of Catholic education presented Catholic education at its best as a gift to all nations,” Cattaro said. “This year, we gathered at Fordham to share our vision for the future: to provide sustainable Catholic education, modeling the pedagogy of Pope Francis—pedagogy of heart, hands, and mind in an effort to better serve the marginalized, the poor, refugees, and those on the peripherals. In other words, to teach as Jesus did.”

The conference began with a 5:30 p.m. opening Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, attended by Archbishop Christophe Pierre, apostolic nuncio to the United States; Father McShane; and several other clergy and faith leaders. Over the next two days, the guests attended lectures and panels presented by key figures in education, including Marc Brackett, director of the Yale University Center for Emotional Intelligence, and Agbonkhianmeghe Orobator, S.J., president of the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar. Archbishop Angelo Vincenzo Zani, secretary of the Vatican Congregation of Catholic Education, presided over all the conference events.

Guests were invited to attend eight available “labs,” where guest speakers discussed their innovative teaching methods. Topics included creating more inclusive schools and protecting children against abuse. To accommodate all of the international guests, each lab topic was presented in English, Spanish, and French.

A Crisis of Compassion

One of the first labs, “For a new format of education, adapted to change, and grounded in a culture of dialogue,” featured TED Talk speaker Kiran Bir Sethi, Ph.D., the founder of an internationally-recognized teaching strategy, and Kari Flornes, Ph.D., a Norwegian philosophy professor who spoke about the importance of teaching empathic communication to children.

“For 15 years of our children’s lives in schooling, we tell them that their education will be incomplete if they do not learn about photosynthesis, quadratic equations, the height of Mount Everest, or even grammar,” said Kiran Bir Sethi, who founded the Riverside School in Ahmedabad, India, in 2001. “But in those same 15 years, we struggle with finding the time to get our children to care about inequality or child rights or compassion … or even love.”

Sethi’s solution is a four-step formula—FIDS (feel, imagine, do, share) for kids—that taps into children’s creativity, compassion, problem-solving skills, and collaboration. It is currently used in more than 65 countries to encourage students to solve local challenges like bullying, she said.

“We ask them to actually go in teams to implement the solution. And finally, we ask them to share—we ask them to share their story of change with the world to inspire others to say, ‘I can’ [too].”

In 2017, Sethi met Pope Francis in Vatican City and signed an agreement that introduced FIDS and her global movement, Design for Change, to more than 460,000 Catholic schools across the world.

The second speaker, Karni Flornes, an associate professor at Bergen University College in Norway, emphasized the importance of educators using empathetic communication in their classrooms.

Aspects of empathetic communication include teaching non-violence and no-hate speech in all subjects, speaking about controversial issues in the classroom, and actively coexisting with people who look different from themselves.

“[Children] have to practice dialogue between people of different views and learn it’s possible to live with diverse opinions,” Flornes said. “It’s not always possible to reach consensus. But it’s possible to live together without violence.”

She said that parents can also use empathic communication by seeing and following their children’s initiatives, sharing their personal experiences with them, and giving praise and showing recognition.

Sharing Global Ideas at the United Nations

The World Congress of Catholic Education conference culminated with a Saturday morning convocation and program at the United Nations general assembly, moderated by Cattaro.

In his introductory remarks, Archbishop Bernardito C. Auza, the Holy See’s permanent observer to the United Nations, said that society needs to be based on “humanism”—a concept that starts at home with the family. Educators must bolster that idea by building spiritual values in students, he said.

Later, a global panel of leaders presented problems and solutions in their native countries, including how to effectively teach sustainability in classrooms and educate students in local prisons. Jaime Palacio, a lay missionary from Peru, spoke about the challenges of educating children in the Amazon. Educators need to listen to the needs of the Amazon community, he said, and help them defend their land and culture. Another panelist—Jose Arellano, executive director of the Catholic Educational Association of the Philippines—considered ISIS’s recruitment of uneducated Muslim children in Asia. One way to prevent this is peacebuilding through education, he said, like the Madaris Volunteer Program in the Philippines.  

In a video message played at the United Nations, Pope Francis also addressed conference participants. For 12 minutes, he spoke about the future work of Catholic schools, expressed his gratitude toward Catholic school educators, and greeted the millions of students who study in Catholic schools worldwide.

“Young people, as I said at World Youth Day in Panama, belong to the ‘today’ of God,” Pope Francis said, “and therefore are also the today of our educational mission.”

— Jeanine Genauer contributed reporting.

Crafted through the lens of Catholic identity, mission, and culture, the program shapes globally-minded, technologically-sophisticated, empathetic leaders dedicated to social justice and equity for all learners.

The 30-credit program is designed for Catholic or faith-based educators seeking to advance into administrative and/or leadership roles. Applicants employed at religious schools may be eligible for a 40 percent scholarship.

“This is a golden opportunity for emerging Catholic school leaders to facilitate the development, articulation, implementation, and stewardship of a vision shared by the school faith community
,  said Gerald Cattaro, Ed.D., executive director of GSE’s Center for Catholic School Leadership and Faith-Based Education.

“We are committed to exploring faith-based identity issues and to educating all students. We emphasize high standards of learning and continuous, mission-focused school improvement.”

Coursework covers a variety of areas, including management, strategic planning, ethics, and technology. Students will complete 440 fieldwork hours in education settings.

Center associate director Cristiana Ritchie-Carter, Ph.D., said that consulting with Catholic school superintendents from across the country revealed a need for Catholic dioceses to create a pipeline for school leadership.

“Our online program meets the needs of today’s learners and is a means to bring together diverse people, form community, and provide excellent academic content,” she said.

For more information, contact the center at [email protected].

Catholic schools have an ardent defender in Gerald M. Cattaro, Ed.D.

As a professor of education, chair of the Division of Educational Leadership, Administration and Policy at Fordham, and executive director of the Center for Catholic School Leadership in the Graduate School of Education (GSE), Cattaro plays a critical role in the ongoing effort to revitalize Catholic schools.

It is a subject he knows well, and about which he is extremely passionate, having worked for 18 years as a principal at a Catholic school in Brooklyn.

“When I was in Brooklyn, we had over 250 Catholic schools. We’re down to about 130 schools now,” he said. “When I was there, I was one of four laypeople who were principals. Today, there may be 10 religious left.”

One of the ways Cattaro helped bolster Catholic education, which has been battered by closing schools and rising tuition, was to organize “Paul: Prophetic Missionary and Transforming Leader,” a weeklong conference that took place from June 25 to July 1 in Vatican City, Rome.

The conference, which linked leaders of Catholic education from states as disparate as Florida, Indiana, New Orleans and New York with counterparts in the Vatican, was inspired by conversations Cattaro had with His Eminence Zenon Cardinal Grocholewski, prefect for the Congregation for Catholic Education.

Catholic school superintendents and vicars of education from the United States had the opportunity to discuss three core issues with their counterparts at the Vatican: identity, quality and affordability.

“This conference was about finally discussing how the United States is only one piece of what we’re talking about around the whole globe,” Cattaro said.

The conference, which is the first of its kind, drew its name from its timing at the end of the Jubilee year dedicated to Saint Paul. To mark the occasion, attendees were invited to Vespers celebrated by Pope Benedict XVI.

Cattaro said one of the important dialogues to occur at the gathering was to better define the role of the superintendent and the charism of the Catholic school community.

“Because so many religious orders are dwindling, what is the presence of the religious community in Catholic schools?” he asked.

When it comes to identity, Cattaro said that a large concern for parishes in the New York area is not just the cost of tuition—which is $3,000 to $4,000 annually, compared to the free Catholic education he received while growing up in Brooklyn—but the rising percentage of non-Catholic students. With the many concerns that a parish must address, many question the wisdom of maintaining a school.

Cattaro noted, however, that in some schools in Asia, Catholics make up only 1 to 2 percent of the student population.

“We have a spiritual work of mercy,” he said. “If you look at the mission countries, and you look at the Jesuits, they have schools not because the people are Catholic, but because we’re Catholic. It’s something we have to do.”

Cattaro still makes time for his work as a scholar, mentoring five doctoral dissertations this past semester and penning a paper on the perceptions of diocesan leaders on their role within education. He also has written a paper on why charter schools should not have a religious affiliation and co-authored a book on special education and public schools.

He is also quick to point out that the Graduate School of Education leads by example when it comes to making education affordable.

“More than 30 years ago, the GSE made a commitment to maintain affordable professional development for educators. So we offer a scholarship for anyone who is teaching in faith-based schools,” he said.

When it comes to the future of Catholic education, especially in primary schools, Cattaro said he remains hopeful because an educational curriculum based on the Gospel message has been drawing people for centuries.

“There will be new ways to govern these schools. No one is saying we’re finished with them. We’re just re-founding them. Re-founding is a theoretical concept by Gerald Arbuckle. What Arbuckle says is, when you are confronted by chaos, you can go one of two ways. You can try to put the toothpaste back in the tube, which some educators attempt, or you can be creative,” he said.

“If you look at our own three regional dioceses, they have all been very creative in terms of the schools. In Long Island, they’ve gone to regional schools. In Brooklyn, the boards are taking over the schools from the parishes, and the archdiocese is currently conducting a new strategic plan,” he said. “Because of what the schools offer, it gives me great hope, because people have not abandoned them. I believe there will always be a need for alternative faith-based education.”