Guidelines
Through Renew My Church we are called to make disciples, build community, and inspire witness. For the benefit of individuals, families and communities served by our Church, we must seek new and creative ways to lead them closer to Christ and one another and to share the Gospel as a light to our world.
Archdiocesan guidelines for faith formation programming are designed to assist parish catechetical leaders as they answer the call to renew the Church of Jesus Christ and work toward continuing to build a stronger sense of community and missionary discipleship in their parish faith formation programs.
The Art of Leadership for Parish Catechetical Ministry handbook is designed to support parish leaders working in catechetical and faith formation ministries in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
All the sections of this handbook are to be viewed as a comprehensive resource based on the Policies and Procedures of the Archdiocese of Chicago. The administration and organization of all parish faith formation programming in the archdiocese must be in compliance with these comprehensive norms and directives.
- Catechesis and Lifelong Faith Formation: Provides a foundational vision, along with guiding principles and considerations, for catechetical ministry in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
- Catechetical Community: Document in process
- Vocation and Responsibilities of the Catechetical Leader: Provides reflection on the vocation of the catechetical leader as outlined in the Directory for Catechesis and lists essential leadership responsibilities for faith formation in the Archdiocese of Chicago.
- Catechetical Program Administrative Responsibilities – Part I, Parish Collaborations: Describes the areas of parish faith formation programming that necessitate collaboration between the parish catechetical leader and parish staff and leadership, as guided by the pastor, to ensure alignment with the overall parish mission and vision of lifelong formation.
- Catechetical Program Administrative Responsibilities – Part II, Program Administration: Document in process
- Legal Responsibilities: Document in process
- Catechetical Program Tools And Forms: Document in process
The “in process” sections of The Art of Leadership for Parish Catechetical Ministry handbook will be listed above when available.
Spanish translations of The Art of Leadership for Parish Catechetical Ministry handbook is also in process and will be listed above when available.
In the Office of Lifelong Formation, we are available to accompany parish catechetical leaders with any aspect of children’s faith formation/religious education programming. We offer this getting started information (English, Spanish) to help parish catechetical leaders with the basic steps of planning faith formation.
Catechists play a crucial role in the life of the Church and in her evangelizing mission. Getting Started as a Catechist (English, Spanish) was written to help catechists gain confidence in their ministry. This concise guide provides resources and information on the vocation and the role of the catechist, suggestions for personal and ministerial formation and practical tips for catechetical sessions.
The document, Sacramental Preparation Processes for Non-Baptized or Baptized, Non-Catholic Children: Recommendations and Communication with Families, was created to help parish leaders better understand the Archdiocese Policies and Procedures for sacramental preparation processes in relation to the practical considerations they encounter in school and parish faith formation. This document provides recommendations only - it does not replace the current sacramental policies of the Archdiocese.
The Offices of Catholic Schools, Divine Worship, and Lifelong Formation hosted webinars to walk parish leaders through the document and to answer questions related to parish scenarios. The webinar recordings and PowerPoint slides are available here:
The annotated Resource List for the RCIA Adapted for Children provides resources for starting and maintaining a children’s catechumenate program that follows the RCIA framework. The list includes resources for parish catechetical leaders and administrators, parents and children’s formation in catechetical sessions.
“The need for a renewed impulse of evangelization justifies the decision to rethink in a missionary vein all the pastoral activities of the Christian community, even the most ordinary and traditional ones. Catechesis as well is touched by the demands of missionary conversion to which the parish is called.” (DC 303)
This Parish Ministry Reflection Guide (English | Spanish) includes excerpts from the new Directory for Catechesis as areas for reflection and envisioning renewed and adaptive ways to provide kerygmatic catechesis in the parish. We encourage parish leadership teams to use this guide as a way examine how they can continue, or begin, the work of building the new reality in their parishes through the process of “rethink[ing] in a missionary vein” elements of their everyday ministry.
The “Catholic Social Teaching and the Call for Racial Justice: A Resource to Help Form Communities that Believe, Act and Teach Justice as True Missionary Disciples of Jesus Christ” resource guide has been written to assist parish leaders as they work to facilitate discussions on the topic of racial justice with parishioners, ministry staff and volunteers through a Catholic lens. This guide provides a foundational background in the teachings of the Catholic Church which reinforce the call for racial justice.
The “Catholic Social Teaching and the Call for Racial Justice” Parish Implementation Suggestions resource is an additional support to parish leaders. This supplemental document will help parish leaders to select and envision how to use the resources and reflections within the Catholic Social Teaching and The Call for Racial Justice Resource Guide in the manner that is best suited to their specific parish community.