Lesotho at SECAM meeting on African Catholic Education

The Lesotho Catholic Bishops Conference was represented at the inaugural Catholic Education conference held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by Archbishop Tlali Gerard Lerotholi OMI of Maseru Metropolitan, who oversees Catholic Schools, and Fr Bereng Constantine Mosuoe, the Catholic Schools Secretary. This conference was held from August 5 to August 8, 2026, and was organised by the Symposium Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). The theme for this first conference centred on “Strengthening Catholic Education for Human Integral Development in Africa.”

This gathering was a follow-up to the resolutions made during the 20th SECAM Plenary Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda, in July 2025, which emphasised the need for enhanced continental collaboration and a refreshed strategic vision for Catholic education across Africa.

The choice of Addis Ababa as the venue for the inaugural conference was deemed significant due to the city’s role as the headquarters of the African Union and various major continental institutions, thus facilitating dialogue between the Catholic Church and African policymakers regarding the impact of faith-based education on the continent’s educational priorities.

Discussions during the conference concentrated on enhancing Catholic identity within education, institutional leadership, teacher training, digital innovation, and the contributions of Catholic schools and universities to Africa’s development.

Participants also examined the role of Catholic education in fostering peace, driving social transformation, and cultivating responsible citizenship.

Lesotho shared its insights regarding the impact of faith-based institutions on the national education system, highlighting how Catholic schools have historically contributed to promoting academic excellence, moral development, and social progress.

Furthermore, the conference served as a platform for Catholic educational institutions throughout Africa to enhance collaboration and promote a continental framework for improved coordination under SECAM.

The involvement of His Grace Tlali Gerard Lerotholi OMI and Fr Mosuoe Constantine Mosuoe, who represented the Lesotho Catholic Bishops Conference, played a significant role in the wider African discourse regarding education and its critical importance for Africa’s development.

This conference is in harmony with the principles upheld by the late Archbishop Emmanuel Gregory Mabathoana OMI, whom the Lesotho Catholic Bishops Conference is honouring this year.