Join us May 1-3 as over 45 global and local experts reflect on the past, present, and future of Christian education.

VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA, April 3, 2025 — The Centre for Christian Engagement (CCE) at St. Mark’s College at UBC is excited to present “The Promise of Christian Education: Past, Present, and Future”.

“This international academic conference will examine Christian education beginning with Jesus’ own ministry and throughout the early Church to current questions such as the use of AI in classrooms, Truth & Reconciliation, Catholic school funding, and how to teach the Catholic faith in diverse classrooms,” said Dr. John W. Martens, Director of CCE.

There will be fascinating speakers from across Canada, the USA, Africa, and Asia who will help us to understand how to continue to teach the faith from elementary education throughout university. In a changing global world, the need to teach the Christian faith remains paramount, even though the methods and challenges are changing. But the Catholic Church has been at the forefront of Christian education from founding universities in medieval Europe to excellent high schools in Vancouver.

Three inspiring keynote speakers will headline. Dr. Margaret MacDonald (Saint Mary’s University) will begin the conference with her lecture Educating the Children of God, Infants to Elders: Rediscovering an Inclusive Communal Vision from Ancient Times. She will look at the role of the extended family in early Christian education. Dr. Samuel Rocha’s (University of British Columbia) lecture Dilexit Mundum: A Christian Education and The Love of The World will argue for a Christian education in light of the love of the world Jesus teaches. Rev. Dr. Stan Chu Ilo (DePaul University) will offer The Promise and Praxis of Catholic Education: Hope for a Wounded and Divided World? He will make a case for hope not simply as a promise but rather as something that emerges through a series of conversion processes that a critical and integral Catholic education brings.

The conference will also feature a special panel of Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities in Canada (ACCUC) presidents titled “The Future of Catholic Higher Education in Canada: Risks & Opportunities.” The speakers are Dr. Christine Schintgen, Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College, Dr. Peter Meehan, St. Jerome’s University (University of Waterloo), Dr. Carl Still, St. Thomas More College (University of Saskatchewan), and moderated by our president, Dr. Gerry Turcotte.

Check out our website for more information on the conference, how to register and about the three free keynote lectures open to the public, and 45+ speakers and concurrent sessions.