On 8-10 September 2022, about 1,400 catechists gathered in Rome from more than 80 countries around the world to reflect on the theme The Catechist, Witness of the New Life in Christ. Paul VI Hall in Vatican City hosted the dynamic, festive and multicultural crowd that reflected in the variety of its colors the richness of faces in the Church today. The majority of the participants were lay people involved in the ministry of catechesis, but there were also many bishops, priests, and a sizable group of women religious present, including the Daughters of St. Paul. The FSPs made the Italian-speaking participants the gift of a copy of their magazine Parish Catechists and offered a catechetical poster to everyone else.
The first of the two previous Catechetical Congresses organized by the Dicastery for Evangelization was dedicated to an in-depth study of the first and second parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the second focused on the profession of faith and the sacraments, and this third Congress focused on the Christian’s way of life as it flows from the spirit of the Beatitudes. The next Congress will be held during the Jubilee Year of 2025 and the Dicastery is already preparing supplementary material and initiatives for it.
In his audience concluding this year’s event, Pope Francis warmly greeted all those present, urging them to never tire of devoting themselves to their very important mission in the Church and to foster the ministry of catechesis according to the guidelines in the Motu Proprio Antiquum Ministerium.
