Catechetical Sunday 2012 Materials Available Online, Focus On The New Evangelization

WASHINGTON—Materials forCatechetical Sunday 2012 are available online for free download by parishes inthe United States. This year’s theme for Catechetical Sunday, which will becelebrated the weekend of September 16, is “Catechists and Teachers as Agentsof the New Evangelization.”

“Before Catholics can go out andevangelize, they must be evangelized,” said Bishop David Ricken of Green Bay,Wisconsin, chairman of the Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis of theU.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). “We celebrate catechists because,since they instruct our people, they have a crucial role in the NewEvangelization.”

The New Evangelization, the effortto rekindle the faith in Catholics, whether practicing or not, is a major focusof the Year of Faith, an effort announced by Pope Benedict XVI beginning onOctober 11 and running through November 24, 2013.

Materials available for CatecheticalSunday 2012 include resources on welcoming Catholics back to church, buildingcultural competencies, explaining the New Evangelization and providing engagingactivities for young people. The materials also include posters, certificates,prayer cards, bulletin inserts and resources for a family retreat. Spanishlanguage materials will be available soon.

Catechetical Sunday, which isobserved on the third Sunday in September, is a celebration of catechists andteachers of the Catholic faith. The U.S. bishops have provided resources forCatechetical Sunday since 1971. For more information, visit: www.usccb.org/catecheticalsunday.

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Keywords: Catechetical Sunday, Catechists and Teachers asAgents of the New Evangelization, faith formation, Bishop David Ricken,Evangelization and Catechesis, New Evangelization, Year of Faith, culturalcompetencies, resources, materials, online

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