The Catechist: Witness to New Life in Christ: The Third International Catechetical Congress, Rome

Abstract

The Catechist: Witness to New Life in ChristThe Third International Catechetical Congress, Rome Jem Sullivan, Ph.D. (bio) Pope Francis' institution of the Ministry of Catechist draws renewed attention to the personal witness and formation of catechists.1 This emphasis is also highlighted in the Directory for Catechesis.2 In the two catechetical documents that preceded it, namely the General Catechetical Directory (1971) and the General Directory for Catechesis (1997), the vocation and formation of catechists were treated in concluding parts, namely chapters six and five respectively. In a significant shift, the Directory for Catechesis clearly prioritizes the catechist's vocation and initial and ongoing formation by placing these themes in chapters three and four of the first part of this catechetical document. The Third International Catechetical Congress for Catechists held in Rome in September 2022 echoed this focus on the catechist's vocation and witness as a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ. Titled The Catechist: Witness to New Life in Christ, the catechetical gathering was hosted by the Vatican's Dicastery for Evangelization and led by its Pro-Prefect, Archbishop Rino Fisichella. The meeting drew more than 1400 participants from some 82 countries with bishops, deacons, consecrated [End Page 179] religious, and lay catechetical leaders and catechists in attendance.3 Speakers from Vatican dicastries and from around the world invited participants to reflect on the vocation to catechetical ministry and to renew their dedication to their shared mission of making the Gospel resound in the minds, hearts and lives of persons today. This essay offers a summary documentation of the Third International Catechetical Congress of Catechists (2022), its major themes and implications for the ongoing renewal of catechesis today. To begin the essay, a brief overview of significant international catechetical gatherings taking place in the course of the last century provides historical context for this recent international catechetical meeting of a large and diverse community from around the world. International Catechetical Gatherings One notable early gathering of bishops, pastors and catechists took place in a catechetical congress held in September 1910 in Milan, Italy.4 The occasion was the celebration of the third centenary of the canonization of Saint Charles Borromeo, renowned for his efforts to renew catechesis when he served as Archbishop of Milan from 1564 to 1584. Borromeo's many contributions to the post-Reformation Church were significant, including the reform of clergy formation and his oversight and redaction of the final text of the Catechism of the Council of Trent, or Roman Catechism as it came to be known.5 Four key themes focused the attention of participants at this 1910 meeting, namely the Catechism, the catechist, the catechized and catechetical methods. In the following decades, a vigorous catechetical movement emerged alongside the biblical, liturgical and patristic movements of the first half of the twentieth century. Catechetical themes brought to the forefront in the research and publications of key figures of the catechetical movement found concrete expression in a series of catechetical [End Page 180] gatherings that came to be known as the International Catechetical Study Weeks.6 Organized by Johannes Hofinger, S.J., this series of catechetical meetings began with a session in Nijmegen, Netherlands (1959) during which participants explored the relationship of liturgy to catechetical ministry. Discussion of this theme continued at the next international gathering in Eichstätt, Germany (1960). The Eichstätt Catechetical Study Week was groundbreaking in its synthesis of Josef Jungmann's kerygmatic approach to catechesis and the "pedagogy of signs" in liturgical catechesis. The discussions and outcomes of the Eichstätt Catechetical Study Week would be integrated into key documents of Vatican II, particularly in the restoration of the ancient catechumenate. The next catechetical gathering in Bangkok, Thailand (1962) focused on the term "pre-evangelization," while the seminars in Katigondo, Uganda (1964), and Manila, Philippines (1967) expanded reflection on themes from earlier meetings now unfolding within a more global perspective. The sixth International Catechetical Study Week, held in Medellin, Colombia (1968), drew insights from theological currents in Liberation Theology and the "preferential option for the poor," contributing significantly to reflection on how catechesis is shaped by the social and political demands of the Gospel, experienced in the concrete...