Pope Francis commemorated the 75th anniversary of UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, with a video message and a written message.

“The Church has a privileged relationship with” UNESCO, for “the Church is at the service of the Gospel, and the Gospel is the most humanizing message known to history,” the Pope said in the November 12 video message. “A message of life, freedom and hope, which has inspired countless educational initiatives in every age and in every place, and has inspired the scientific and cultural growth of the human family.”

“The Catholic Church bears witness to the truth she has received about humanity, its origin, its nature and its destiny: she affirms that each person is not defined primarily by what he possesses, but by what she is, by the dignity God confers on him, by his capacity to exceed herself and grow in humanity,” the Pope added in the written message, dated November 11 and released November 13.