St. Pius the Tenth Catholic Church

Religious Education

“The Church has always considered catechesis [the religious education and formation of its people] as one of her primary tasks (CT, 1).” (CT, 2) “The definitive aim of catechesis is to put people not only in touch, but also in communion and intimacy, with Jesus Christ (GDC 80).” The Religious Education Program at St. Pius X Parish strives to accomplish both of these directives through several catechetical programs that include a formal Wednesday evening Religious Education Program for children grades one through eight, sacramental preparation for children in the parish 5-day school and Religious Education Program, RCIA for children, the Welcome Your Child baptismal program for new parents, a Sunday Preschool Program for youngsters ages three through five, educational opportunities for both adults and young adults, and Generations of Faith gatherings for whole community catechetical learning experiences.

The Church defines six tasks of catechesis (Greek for “an echo” of Jesus Christ):

1. Teach the message of the Gospel
2. Lead people to prayer
3. Give moral formation
4. Educate for worship
5. Build community
6. Develop an awareness that a Christian is one who continues the mission and work of Jesus Christ today

Catechesis is spreading the good news of Jesus Christ and helping people to believe that Jesus is the Son of God, so that believing and living his life today, the body of Christ is built up. To be truly successful, the task of catechesis must be the task of each person in the parish. For more information about religious education at St. Pius X Parish, contact Patty Griffith at 558-1898.

Generations of Faith

Generations of Faith at St. Pius X Parish seeks to translate the catechetical vision of the Catholic Church into reality in our parish life. The General Directory for Catechesis (1997) calls for a lifelong approach to faith formation with the parish community at the center of catechesis.

Generations of Faith provides this by developing an events-centered approach to faith formation, focusing on the events of Church life: Church year feasts and season, sacraments and Church rituals, justice and service, prayer and spirituality, and community life.

The Generations of Faith approach includes intergenerational catechetical programs for all ages and resources for home faith-sharing and learning. Generation of Faith is not a program; rather, it is an approach to creating lifelong, intergenerational, events-centered faith formation. This approach builds on the strengths of our parish’s current catechetical programming, while creating a lifelong faith formation plan and intergenerational program that gathers people of all ages and stages of life to learn together.

Generations of Faith is broad-based, in that it invites many parishioners to participate in the gatherings.

Contact Patty Griffith at 558-1898 for information on how to become involved.