Education - A Path To Love

Mr John Lydon, Assistant Headteacher of Salesian School, Chertsey, was invited to participate in an International Symposium which took place at UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, on 9th and 10th November 2006.

With Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York

John Lydon with Cardinal Egan, Archbishop of New York

The conference was opened by Mgr Francesco Follo, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to UNESCO and the three keynote speakers were Mr Boutros Boutros-Ghali - former Secretary General of the United Nations, Cardinal Edward Egan - Archbishop of New York and Cardinal Zenon Grocholewsky - Prefect of the Congregation for Catholic Education.

With Mgr Follo and Cardinal Grocholewsky

John Lydon with Mgr Follo and Cardinal Grocholewsky

All the speakers emphasised the importance of educating the whole person. St John Bosco was mentioned on several occasions. Cardinal Grocholewsky spoke of the importance of the effective presence of the educator in the lives of young people and Don Bosco's exhortation to make students feel that they are loved as the abiding characteristic of the preventive system.

Read Mr Lydon's fuller account of the Symposium.

On Saturday 2nd December 2006, Mr Lydon was invested as a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre in St George's Cathedral Southwark. The Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre is one of the two religious Orders of Knighthood recognised as such by the Holy See. In the picture below he appears in a festive context with three of his Salesian friends, Fr Peter Brealey (Chertsey), Fr John Dickson (Farnborough) and Fr Gerry O'Shaughnessy (Bootle).

John with Salesian friends

Mr Lydon in formal attire, with SDB friends.