BOLZANO. L’Diocesan school and catechesis office has a new director,the Bolzanina Chiara Rinaldi which from Monday 1st December happens to Andrea Bailoni.
Born and raised in Bolzano, the Oltrisarco district, after graduating from high school Chiara Rinaldi graduated in law from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan. While already working in a judicial office, he made the decision to embark on a new path in the world of school and teaching. In 2023 she also graduated from the Higher Institute of Religious Sciences in Bolzano and received the Bishop Karl Golser Prize for her thesis ”Weitermachen. Doing more – Alexander Langer’s words for a pastoral approach aimed at today’s young people”. Chiara Rinaldi is the mother of seven children.
The new director faces her task with confidence: “I am aware that I am starting my journey on well-trodden ground not only by the previous directors, Markus Felderer and Andrea Bailoni, but also by the constant work of all the collaborators.I want to work hard to build relationships, broaden perspectives, give opportunities to innovations that can fuel personal and community growth through relationships and dialog. teaching was a great desire and a challenge: to stand alongside young people and children to try to live the future with them. Moreover, teaching religion is for me the possibility of bringing to the classroom a time dedicated to God, to thinking about him, imagining him, questioning him through the typical curiosity of children and young people which should never be blocked or rejected but rather always encouraged and nourished.”
Andrea Bailoni, who directed the diocesan office for a year and is now starting to study psychology and philosophy in Perugia, realizing a long-standing desire, underlines the importance of the work of religion teachers and catechists, “who are not only educators, but also builders of bridges in dialogue and sowers of hope. Through teaching, they help students grapple with the big questions about existence, understand the cultural and spiritual roots of our society and cultivate the values of peace, solidarity and mutual respect. This service is an indispensable gift for the Church and society.” Until mid-January the outgoing director will accompany Chiara Rinaldi in the handover.