Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the foundation of the Saint Joseph International Missionary College (“Mater Ecclesiae” College of Castel Gandolfo – 1979-2009), there will be a Conference held April 28-29 at the Pontifical University Urbaniana, on the identity of the lay catechist working on the Church's missions. The Conference is being organized by the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples (CEP) and the Saint Joseph International Missionary College, in collaboration with the Pontifical University Urbaniana (PUU) and will take place in the Aula Magna of the same University.
The theme of the Conference is “The identity of the lay catechist in the Evangelization of Peoples. Men and women, witnesses of the Risen Lord and collaborators in the Mission,” and indicates the objectives of the study session: to reflect on the theme of the identity of the laity and the catechist, clarifying the identity of the laity in the Church's mission, towards greater collaboration and participation.
The Conference will take place in two parts: the first day, April 28, there will be an overview of the catechist's role in the mission ad gentes and projections towards the future. Archbishop Piergiuseppe Vacchelli, Secretary Adjunct of the CEP and President of the Pontifical Mission Societies, will open the Conference with a Scripture reading. This will be followed by an address given by Monsignor Cataldo Zuccaro, Rector Major of the Urbaniana University. There are two talks scheduled to follow: “The catecists and the mission ad gentes: listening to history,” by Fr. Alberto Trevisiol, Dean of the Missiology Department at the PUU. “The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and the lay catechist: looking towards the future,” by Archbishop Robert Sarah, Secretary of the CEP. The moderator for these events will be Fr. Sante Bisognano, OMI, Rector of Saint Joseph's College.
In the afternoon, the Rector of the College and the visiting catechists from 22 nations will reflect on the reality of this school of formation and the unity in diversity. There will also be a presentation of “Letters from catechists to catechists” in the Year of St. Paul. The moderator of this session will be Fr. Kipoy Pombo, JK, President of the Superior Institute of Catechesis and Missionary Spirituality (ISCSM) of the PUU.
The second day, April 29, will be dedicated to the challenges and prospects to come. In the morning, there will be a theological and pedagogical reflection on the identity and role of the lay catechist in human and spiritual formation, the role of communications media and the use of new technologies for catechesis. The speakers will be: Prof. Sandra Mazzolini, Professor of Missiology at the PUU; Prof. Silvestro Paluzzi, Professor (ISCSM), PUU; Prof. Luca Pandolci, Director of the Center for Social Communications of the PUU; and catechist Yolanda Cardenas. The moderator will be Father Tadeusz Wojda, SAC, Office Manager of the CEP.
In the afternoon, the conference will address the future plans for individual dioceses, with Fr. Daniel Corijn, OMI, Rector of Saint Paul's College (Rome). Fr. Osorio Citora Alfonso will recall the names of catechists who have supported the Christian community and the martyrs of the world. The Conference will conclude with a Liturgy of the Word and the presentation of the Missionary Mandate to the Catechists of Saint Joseph's College, presided by Cardinal Ivan Dias, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, in the chapel of the Urban College. (SL) (Agenzia Fides 21/4/2009)
