Vatican approves rite for institution of catechists

Screenshot from The Pope Video - Catechists

Source: Vatican News

On Monday, the Vatican issued a rite and guidelines for the institution of lay catechists.

In May this year, Pope Francis created the lay ministry of catechist with the release of the motu proprio Antiquum ministerium which emphasized the importance of the role of catechists in transmitting the Catholic faith in church communities.

In a letter to Bishops Conferences, Archbishop Arthur Roche, Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, explains that a catechist has a lay ministry distinct from the ordained priesthood, but that catechists, "by virtue of their Baptism, are called to be co-responsible in the local Church for the proclamation and transmission of the faith, carrying out this role in collaboration with the ordained ministers and under their guidance."

"The definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ: only He can lead us to the love of the Father in the Spirit and make us share in the life of the Holy Trinity," Roche said, quoting from St Pope John Paul II's 1979 apostolic exhortation Catechesi tradendae.

Archbishop Roche said the way this role will be carried out may be different in each diocese, depending on the particular needs of the community. He said the tasks of a catechist in a mission territory will differ from those in an area where the Catholic faith has long been established.

Baptized adult Catholics who have received the Sacraments of Confirmation and First Holy Communion and would like to be instituted in the ministry of catechist can present a written request to their diocesan bishop, who decides who may be admitted as a candidate. The new ministry can be conferred by the bishop or by a priest delegated by him. The ceremony should take place during a Mass or celebration of the Liturgy of the Word.

Archbishop Roche stresses the "vocational aspect" of the ministry, and says diocesan bishops must carefully discern who should be admitted to this lay ministry.

The Liturgy Office also offered guidelines for who, should not be instituted as catechists. This list includes men who are preparing to receive Holy Orders as priests or deacons, men and women religious, catechists for ecclesial movements, and Catholic religion school teachers.

In Antiquum ministerium, Pope Francis said: "catechists are called first to be expert in the pastoral service of transmitting the faith as it develops through its different stages from the initial proclamation of the kerygma (Gospel proclamation) to the instruction that presents our new life in Christ and prepares for the sacraments of Christian initiation, and then to the ongoing formation that can allow each person to give an accounting of the hope within them."

"It is fitting that those called to the instituted ministry of Catechist be men and women of deep faith and human maturity, active participants in the life of the Christian community, capable of welcoming others, being generous and living a life of fraternal communion."

Catechists "should also receive suitable biblical, theological, pastoral and pedagogical formation to be competent communicators of the truth of the faith he said. "It is essential that they be faithful co-workers with priests and deacons, prepared to exercise their ministry wherever it may prove necessary, and motivated by true apostolic enthusiasm."

LINKS

Read Archbishop Roche's full letter to Bishops Conferences here: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2021/12/13/0845/01773.html#en

Rite of Institution of Catechists: https://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2021/12/13/0845/01772.html

Pope Francis' prayer video this month focusses on the ministry, mission and vocation of catechists, thanking them for their enthusiasm for transmitting the faith, and encouraging them to proclaim the Gospel with new languages and in new ways. See: www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJpxgGQywX8