A citadel in danger: Catholicism, politics and schools in Spain.
In a seminar held at the Pontificia Università della Santa Croce, Carlos Veci analyzed the role of the Church in Spanish Education between 1889 and 1970.
FotoPontificiaUniversità della Santa Croce/Carlos Veci.
27 | 03 | 2025
On March 25, 2025, agraduate seminar was held at the Pontifical University of Santa Croce (Rome) on A citadel in danger. Catholicism, politics and school in Spain (1889-1970), in position the researcher Carlos Veci, member of the Center programs of study Josemaría Escrivá.
During the session, the main synergies and tensions between Catholics committed to teaching and the State were discussed, in a period marked by the advance of secularization and the consolidation of the ideal of a national Education .
Among the topics discussed were the Church's concern for the Education of the most disadvantaged sectors - illustrated by the case of the Ave Maria Schools founded by Father Andrés Manjón in 1889 -, its participation in the training of leading minorities through the colleges or its frictions with the Institución Libre de teaching and a good part of the intellectuals of the time.
It also analyzed the way in which the confessional state model offered both opportunities and limits to the educational action of the Church.
The last part of the seminar offered an overview of the context in which educational initiatives promoted by members of Opus Dei arose, as well as their particular way of inserting themselves into the Spanish educational panorama of the 20th century.
