Evangelization & Catholic Formation of Adults
To assist parish catechetical leaders in preparing those who will hand on the faith, the Archdiocesan Office of Evangelization & Catechesis has partnered with several educational institutes to offer teaching and certification.
Upon completion of requirements for certification at any of our 3 partner institutes, a certificate will be issued from the Office of Evangelization & Catechesis. To receive certification, please fill out and submit the Catechist Record Form, and ask your Pastor to complete and submit the Pastor’s Recommendation. Please also include copies of any certificates you may have received as proof of your participation in the programs below. (If you were certified as a catechist in any other diocese, please fill out this form and return it to our office along with the Pastor's Recommendation form.)
To be certified at any level, a catechist must complete the requirements for one program in that level. A brief description follows:
Rung One – Basic Catechist Training
Maryvale Echoes Parish-based Training (contact your parish director of religious education or the Office of Evangelization & Catechesis for more information.)
Benedictine College School of Faith (Intensive Course) Module I: Foundation (Introduction to Scripture, Creed: Theology for Beginners, Ministry of Catechesis)
Rung Two – Catechist Certification
Maryvale Certificate in Catechesis (This is a two-year, collaborative-learning, modular course aiming at forming a solid foundation in the Catholic Faith and personal growth through 3 study days and 1 retreat day each year.)
Benedictine College School of Faith (Intensive Course) Module 2: Partaking of the gift; becoming gift (Sacraments & Liturgy, Morality, Prayer & Spirituality), Module 3: Deepening Scriptural Basis (Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of John, Writings of St. Paul), and Module 4: Lumen Gentium (Christology, Ecclesiology, Mariology)
Benedictine College School of Faith (Extended Course) Core Curriculum (Salvation History I & II, Theological Foundations I & II, Virtue: the Pursuit of Happiness, Theology of Marriage & Family)
Rung 3 – Higher Education or Equivalent
Maryvale MA in Religious Education & Catechesis
Benedictine School of Faith (Intensive Course) Module 5: Cultural & Philosophical (Culture & Morality, Church History, Apologetics and the New Evangelization) and Module 6: Educational & Methodological (Elementary Considerations, Youth Considerations, Adult Formation) (equivalent to a minor in Theology)
Other higher education degrees
Click here to see our Ladder of Learning handout.