The Meaning Behind GravissiMum
The Meaning Behind GravissiMum
Why GravissiMum? What does it mean, and how does it relate to our company’s mission? Let’s talk about the meaning behind our name!
GravissiMum comes from the Latin word gravissimum which means “really important”. While that phrase on its own may not have much meaning, when you put it into the context of our store and what we are offering families, it makes more sense! Our faith is really important. Families are really important. Education is really important. Here at GravissiMum, our aim is to provide families and educators with educational material, such as books, that introduce the Catholic faith to children in unique and inspiring ways! A perfect blending if you will of faith, education, and family. Everything that is really important to us!
The emphasis on ‘mum’ in GravissiMum is because this company was the brainchild of two Catholic moms. In the beginning, before we were announcing the launch of our first book, GravissiMum had two founders. Due to personal reasons, one founder had to step back before the company could even take off. But the frame of reference remains the same. As a Catholic mom, I approach GravissiMum as an outlet to providing my children and children around the world with educational materials presented in a Catholic manner.
Mum is also a flower and one that represents Mary—the most Holy mother. Mary is an inspiration to us all. She was one of the first teachers of Jesus. Although she had the perfect pupil, she certainly had plenty of difficult moments that she held onto and contemplated in her heart. But above all, she trusted God to work through her to accomplish His will. We will certainly never be perfect parents or perfect educators, but we can bring our sinful selves to the foot of the cross and ask God to multiply our patience, our love, joy, kindness—whatever it is that our children need—so that we can be who our children need us to be. So that God can work through us to teach our children.
The inspiration for the name GravissiMum came from an encyclical promulgated by Pope Paul VI called gravissimum educationis. Written in 1965, it emphasized the importance and relevance of education in human life. It reaffirmed the right of every human person to education and emphasized the parent’s roles as the first and primary educators of their children. [1] Faith and education begin at home. Our mission at GravissiMum is to provide parents with educational materials that teach foundational skills (such as letters, number, and colors) using the Catholic faith. As Pope Leo XIV said in his apostolic letter, Drawing New Maps of Hope, on the 60th anniversary of gravissimum educationis, “faith is not an added “subject,” but a breath that oxygenates every other subject” [3].
Gravissimum educationis also warned against treating children as cogs that we must teach solely to fit into the machine of society—focusing only on increasing their skills and following set protocols [1]. Instead, we must recognize that each child is an individual with a unique story and a unique vocation [1]. Many parents have adapted this view today, transitioning their children from public schools to private or even homeschools with lower teacher:student ratios. Education that can encourage the interests of children and adjust to the learning pace of each student.
As Pope Leo XIV said in his apostolic letter, Drawing New Maps of Hope, on instrumentum laboris[2], “educating is an act of hope and a passion that is renewed because it manifests the promise we see in the future of humanity [3]”. We never want students to stop asking questions, and we never want to stagnate their curiosity. The desire and heart of a person must not be separated from knowledge [3]. Therefore, Christian education must embrace the whole person: spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical [3].
Here at GravissiMum, we want our books to blur the lines we so often draw between our home and faith lives and between the lines society tries to draw between our education and our faith so we can live more fully in the truth that we are made in “the image of God, called to truth and goodness”[3]. Let us fulfil our ultimate role as educators to teach our children the love of God and to get them closer to Heaven.
[1] Vatican Ecumenical Council II. 1965. Declaration on Christian education. Gravissimum educationis.
[2] Conference of Congregation for Catholic Education. 2014. Instrumentum laboris. Educating today and tomorrow: A renewing passion.
[3] Pope Leo XIV. 2025. Apostolic letter: Drawing n ew maps of hope.
