Letter for the start of the 2025-2026 school and sports year

Palermo, August 29, 2025

To the entire Gonzaga Campus community

(students, parents, non-teaching staff,

members of Ignatian groups and associations)

Dear families, dear students, educators of the Gonzaga Campus,

With great joy and deep gratitude, I welcome you to the beginning of a new school year.

The beginning of each year is always a precious time, filled with expectations, dreams, and plans. It is a time when, once again, the energies of our entire educational community are harnessed. And this year, more than ever, we feel challenged by a historic moment that calls us to be witnesses and builders of hope.

1. Theme of the year: “To build a world of peace”

The Pastoral Care of the Jesuit Schools Network proposes a highly timely theme for this school year: "Building a World of Peace."

We live in a historical context marked by too many wars, divisions, and injustices, which unfortunately do not even spare children. Faced with all this, as educators, parents, and citizens, we cannot remain indifferent. Peace is not a distant dream, nor a word to be spoken once a year. It is a daily choice, an educational task.

School is the first place to learn peace, starting with our language: at school, in the hallways, in peer relationships, in respect for teachers, in how we address conflict, in the beauty of dialogue. Here we learn to listen, to understand, to build bridges. Peace is something we learn; it doesn't arise on its own.

Pope Francis has repeatedly urged us to cultivate peace in the hearts of young people and to be "artisans of peace," forcefully recalling the teachings of the popes who preceded him. Already at the end of the 19th century, Pope Leo XIII warned against the divisions and injustices that undermine civil coexistence, and urged us to seek solutions based on respect for human dignity, dialogue, and social justice. And Pope Leo XIV began his pontificate by calling for a "disarming and disarmed peace" that is first and foremost a gift from God.

We, as the Gonzaga community, are committed to living this school year by "disarming ourselves" and embracing the logic of a peace that arises from looking at others, caring for the common good, and educating the heart.

2. The canonization of two young Jesuit alumni

A momentous event will mark the start of our school year. On September 7, 2025 , two extraordinary young men will be canonized in Rome: Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis.

Both were former students of Jesuit schools and today the Church recognizes them as models of contemporary holiness.

Pier Giorgio Frassati, a young man from Turin in the early twentieth century, a former student of the Turin Social Institute, demonstrated a profound faith combined with a profound concern for the poor, the disadvantaged, and the sick. He was called "the man of the beatitudes." Carlo Acutis, a young man of our time, a former student of the Leone XIII Institute in Milan, where his professors still remember him for his kindness, his lively curiosity and concern for the most vulnerable, and his passion for the Eucharist. In his simplicity, he is increasingly becoming a point of reference for many young people seeking meaning in their lives.

Anyone wishing to attend Holy Mass in St. Peter's Square can request a pass by writing as soon as possible to: cinardo.emiosalvatore@gonzagapalermo.it or miklos.claudiujani@gonzagapalarmo.it

Pass requests must be made by Tuesday, September 2nd.

We do have a number of passes reserved for Jesuit schools. In addition, a small

A small group is making plans to go to Rome (if you'd like, you can also contact Father Claudiu or Professor Emio Cinardo about this), and I myself will be among the concelebrants at the Mass. It will be an opportunity to feel a living part of the universal Church and to be inspired by the testimony of two young people who courageously and authentically embodied the Gospel in their time.

3. The 300th anniversary of the canonization of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga

2025 will also be a special year for us: it marks the 300th anniversary of the canonization of another young saint, Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, to whom our school is dedicated.

Because of his youth, Saint Louis, who lived in the 16th century, was proclaimed the patron saint of youth. He embodies that youthful spirit that demands radicalism and does not settle for compromise: radicalism in following Christ, renouncing riches and honors; radicalism in serving the sick during a plague epidemic, even at the cost of losing his life at just 23 years old.

His figure, along with that of Piergiorgio and Carlo, continues to speak to us today, especially to young people: he reminds us that holiness is possible, that one can live authentically, that true greatness lies in service. Throughout the year, the Gonzaga Campus will offer moments of reflection, celebrations, cultural and educational initiatives to better understand his life and let us be guided by his example.

We must allow ourselves to be challenged and perhaps “converted” by these figures of young sainthood to look to the present and the future with hope.

4. The challenge of artificial intelligence

Thus, we prepare for a new school year that, as always, presents us with many challenges. Among them, in addition to the absurdity of the wars surrounding us and requiring our attention as educators, is that of artificial intelligence. In a time marked by rapid digital transformation, it is essential for schools to question themselves, update themselves, and renew their teaching practices to consciously support young people. As a community of educators, we have decided to place this at the center of our school's reopening days. Starting September 1st , all campus teachers will participate in intensive training on Artificial Intelligence and the educational challenges of technology.

I think it's wonderful for everyone to know about this time of preparation for the new school year for teachers. It's always been experienced as a precious time of anticipation, during which we prepare everything to best welcome our students, the most precious gift entrusted to us. We constantly wonder how to guide them to inhabit the world that awaits them in an authentic and critical way, embracing the complexity of reality and the joy of education. May Carlo Acutis, the future patron saint of the Internet, help us reflect and prepare for the educational challenges of technology.

What's new at the Gonzaga Campus for the 2025–2026 academic year?

Alongside the spiritual and value-based dimensions, the new year brings with it important structural and organizational changes, which strengthen our commitment to offering a comprehensive and innovative educational experience. In this circular, I can only provide an overview: further circulars from myself or the coordinators will be needed to go into detail about these and other innovations we have prepared for the new school year.

1. The new Gonzaga Campus Nursery

As already partially announced, starting from September, Gonzaga will have the joy of welcoming the little ones: in fact, for the first time it will open its doors to children from 6 months of age, with

the inauguration of the new nursery school.

This is an important step, marking the extension of our educational project to include early childhood. The spaces have been completely renovated , designed to ensure safety, sensory stimulation, and emotional care. In these challenging times, we want to welcome them, the littlest ones, into an atmosphere of trust and beauty, one that supports families in the delicate task of raising their children. Let us always remember that by helping the littlest ones grow, we also grow as parents and educators, precisely because a school like ours is not just about efficient services but also about a community project that puts children and then young people at the center, because together we can build a better world.

2. The new High School of Human Sciences

The curriculum offered by the Italian School High School is also being enriched with the launch of the new Human Sciences High School , which we believe is a high school program capable of reviving the Jesuit humanistic tradition while addressing today's social challenges. We are convinced that this is a high school that looks to the future, where the dimension of care will remain essential even in the face of increasingly rapid technological changes, and that it can speak to young people who wish to understand the complexity of the human being and prepare for professions related to the educational, social, and psychological fields.

3. The reopening of the Casina Whitaker

After a long and painstaking restoration, Casina Whitaker is ready to reopen. The completely renovated interior and exterior spaces will once again house the campus's management, administrative, and secretarial offices. It will also be a valuable space for afternoon activities for high school students. A historic site brought back to life, serving the community.

4. The sporting dimension within the campus

Our sports club continues to grow and enrich the educational offerings of the Gonzaga Campus.

We strongly believe in the synergy between sports and school, and we are striving to further enhance these aspects for the comprehensive education of children and young people. This year, we are adding classical and contemporary dance to our already broad offering (soccer, basketball, mini-basketball, tennis, volleyball, jujitsu, kickboxing, multi-sports, figure skating, and artistic gymnastics). It is a discipline that unites body, mind, and artistic expression, further enriching our students' opportunities to discover and cultivate their passions.

At the same time, the work of renovating the sports infrastructure continues:

You will find the surface of two new soccer fields redone , to offer ever greater safe and functional spaces.

5. Palermo Football Academy

A project we care deeply about, one we've been working on for some time and which came to fruition this summer, is the establishment of the Palermo Calcio Academy at the Gonzaga Campus. This project, in keeping with the importance given to sport as a valuable tool for educating new generations and the opening of the Sports Science High School a few years ago, provides a residential facility for Palermo Calcio athletes. Gonzaga offers them a place to grow, thanks to the synergy between sporting commitments, school, and training.

human. For this reason, a floor of the Community of Fathers has been converted into a guesthouse to host the young athletes of Palermo Calcio , offering them a peaceful, well-kept, and stimulating environment.

6. Civil Service: 100 young people serving young people

This year, too, in the coming weeks, we will welcome young people participating in the civil service program of the "Gonzaga with Young People in Sicily" network. As the network's leader, we strongly believe in the potential of young people to contribute to the growth of this region, and we believe this project will unleash wonderful energy that will benefit many communities, including the young people who participate. This year, 100 young people will participate in civil service programs , engaging in social and educational activities in Palermo, Catania, and Messina. Thirty-five of them will be placed within the Italian School, the International School, and the Sports Center , bringing their skills, creativity, and desire to make a difference. We welcome them with joy and openness.

Information regarding the resumption of the school year

Starting Monday, September 1st , you will receive specific communications from each school through the electronic register, with all the logistical and teaching instructions for the first days of school.

Let me just give some very general information here.

First of all, I would like to remind you that the secretarial and administrative offices are already open to the public , from Monday to Friday , during the following hours: 8:00 – 9:30 and 12:00 – 13:30 and are ready to support you in a peaceful resumption of school activities this year too.

Moving on to school, I'd like to inform you that starting this year, all learning activities at both the Italian and International Schools will begin 10 minutes earlier than last year. This simple but important decision improves time management and promotes greater harmony in learning rhythms and campus logistics.

• The International School Palermo will start on Monday 8 September , full time, with canteen service included.

• The Italian school will begin as specified below:

o Preschool: Monday, September 8th. Full-time start on Monday, September 15th.

o Primary school: Monday 15th September for the first classes; Wednesday 17th for the remaining classes (from

(Second to fifth grades). Full-time from Monday 22 September.

o Middle School: Monday, September 15, 2025. Full-time starts on Monday, September 22.

or High Schools: Monday, September 15, 2025.

To all of you, dear families, students, educators, staff, and friends of the Gonzaga Campus, I extend my sincere best wishes for a year filled with life, peace, growth, and beauty. Together, we can continue to build an educational environment capable of fostering a future.

Happy school year everyone!

With affection and esteem

P. Vitangelo Carlo Maria Denora SJ

General Manager Gonzaga Campus