Pope to put final brushstroke to Scholas Occurrentes mural in Portugal

By Edoardo Giribaldi

During his journey to Portugal for World Youth Day 2023, Pope Francis will visit the Scholas Occurrentes community of young people in Cascais, a coastal town situated west of Lisbon.

The culture of encounter

Scholas Occurrentes is an International Educational Movement of Pontifical Right created by decree by Pope Francis himself.

The organization is present in all continents, comprehending over half a million schools and educational networks, responding to the "call to create the Culture of Encounter, bringing young people together in an education that generates Meaning."

“Life between Worlds”

In a press release, the organization explained how the meeting will represent the closing of the "Life between Worlds" project, consisting of the realization of a mural.

"Old people and young people, rich and poor, children of different religions and non-believers, and young people of different nationalities participated in this work of art," the statement read, underlining how "the final touch" will be given by Pope Francis.

Educational experience

José María Del Corral, Scholas Occurrentes' World President, expressed his gratitude to the Pope and World Youth Day's organizers for the effort to come "to visit us in Cascais and share this educational experience that is changing our lives, giving us the sense to stand up and keep fighting."

The importance of the “between”

The project embodied the Pope's "pedagogical vision," underlining the "importance of the 'between,' where the encounter between people, between people and the world, between the world and life takes place. Where life regains its meaning."

In fact, the 3 km mural was born from the encounter of young people from different parts of the world who shared “their pains and dreams” and created “an immersive work of art, making the ‘classroom without walls’ real.”

The press release concluded by providing the numbers of the project, which saw the participation of "100 organizations" from the Cascais community, bringing together more than 2000 people working in groups of 5 to 10, and creating "300 murals that were joined in a single work."