Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) – The “Letter from Catechists to Catechists,” which hopes to “confirm us in our vocation” and “give thanks to God” for the gift of believers who respond to the call to become evangelizers in missionary lands, was presented during the recent Congress celebrated for the 30th anniversary of Saint Joseph's International Missionary College (see Fides 29/4/2009; 30/4/2009).
The text recalls the history of the former Mater Ecclesiae College of Castelgandolfo, which is today located on the campus of the Urbaniana in Rome and is under the patronage of Saint Joseph, offering academic and pastoral formation since 1979 to young people from all over the world. It reads: “In these three decades, many youth, men, and women have come here to deepen in their vocation as laity called to the ministry of catechists and animators of Christian communities, and to place their competency and experience at the service of others. We feel called, right where we live, to be first and foremost the voice and the living presence of Christ among children, youth, adults and their families, social groups, among those who suffer, to whom we want to bring the priceless gift of the Word of God, the Gospel of Life, which we have tasted and assimilated in our formation.”
The College's students also focused on the problems of the mission nowadays, observing that “the needs of the local Churches and the challenges of evangelization” have experienced “rapid and complex developments, which we try to follow with our studies and personal and community reflections, to learn the art of discernment and put our formation to good use.” Their thought also goes out to “the many catechists who are witnesses to the Risen Lord in solitude, in misunderstandings, in persecution for the faith” and the “many lay martyrs across the world who have given their lives for their brethren and for the Gospel...Thus, we experience the 30th anniversary celebration as the beginning of a new phase in commitment and responsibility” and an invitation to follow in “the footsteps of Christ with the apostolic passion of Paul, Apostle to the Gentiles.”
The Year of St. Paul is a “priceless gift” and “inspires us all to follow his example and to open the eyes of our heart to the needs of humanity and in search of their salvation. May each one of us proclaim with our lives: 'Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!' (1 Cor 9:16).” The Letter concludes by giving thanks to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, “for its untiring commitment to the laity and formation of catechists.” It then asks “Mary, Disciple of the Lord and Star of Evangelization,” to “accompany us all on our mission.” (AM) (Agenzia Fides 5/5/2009)
