SAN DIEGO — On Catechetical Sunday, celebrated Sept. 21 this year, the Catholic Church highlights those entrusted with the responsibility to teach in its name, particularly catechists.
This year’s theme, taken from the First Letter of St. Peter (3:15), is “Always be ready to give an explanation … for a reason for your hope.”
Within the Diocese of San Diego, there are about 2,600 active catechists, or teachers of the faith, including those who lead faith formation and sacramental preparation classes at local parishes.
Leticia Trent, director of the diocesan Office for Evangelization and Catechetical Ministry, said that about 400 local people are certified each year as catechists – about 60 percent of whom serve in the Spanish-language community. The office also offers certification to Vietnamese-language catechists.
Many parishes publicly recognize their catechists at Mass on Catechetical Sunday, with the priest blessing them and their ministry.
The diocese and its bishops also dedicate time to recognizing catechists and their essential role. Annual, bilingual commissioning Masses are celebrated in both San Diego and Imperial counties.
Auxiliary Bishop Felipe Pulido will celebrate one of them at 6:30 p.m., Monday, Sept. 8, at St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Imperial. Bishop Michael Pham will celebrate the other at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 11, at St. Catherine Labouré Parish in Clairemont.
“This is like a kickoff for the catechetical year for our office, and it’s a blessing from the bishop to all parish leadership and catechists for the new catechetical year,” Trent said.
Noting that catechists often devote decades to this ministry, she said that catechists who have been certified for 10, 20 and 30 years receive special recognition at each commissioning Mass.
The Office for Evangelization and Catechetical Ministry offers a 48-hour certification course in-person, online, and in a hybrid format. To maintain their certification, catechists must earn 30 hours of renewal credits every three years through events sponsored by the office or through Diocesan Institute courses or other approved workshops.
Beyond highlighting catechists, Catechetical Sunday is a day for the entire Catholic community to reflect on its shared responsibility in handing on the faith. The day reminds all baptized Catholics of their call to evangelize, particularly parents, who are the primary educators of their children in the faith.
In 2021, Pope Francis formally instituted the lay ministry of catechist in his apostolic letter “Antiquum Ministerium,” raising the position to greater recognition.
The document underscored the renewed appreciation for lay involvement in evangelization, a theme strongly emphasized since the Second Vatican Council. The pope noted the urgent need for catechists in the contemporary world, particularly given today’s globalized culture.
He emphasized the importance of “genuine interaction with young people,” as well as “the need for creative methodologies and resources capable of adapting the proclamation of the Gospel to the missionary transformation that the Church has undertaken.”
For more information, visit sdcatholic.org/evangelization-and-catechetical-ministry, call (858) 490-8234 or email vbrewster@sdcatholic.org.
