Pope Francis recently announced the establishment of the lay ministry of the catechists. ACN supports over 18,000 catechists around the world. Catechists are an essential part of the Church’s mission in many parts of the world.

By ACN Staff

Director of Projects at Aid to the Church in Need International (ACN), Regina Lynch, has expressed excitement at the announcement of the establishment of the lay ministry of the catechists:

“We are very excited about the most recent Apostolic Letter Antiquum Ministerium, with which the pope has established the ‘lay ministry’ of catechist with its own Rite of Institution…Our project work in more than 140 countries has shown us that in many places of the world catechists are the backbone of the Church.”

Regina explained that catechists are an essential part of the Church’s ministry in many parts of the world. This is particularly the case in areas such as the Sahel in West Africa. The ministry of the catechists is essential in areas like this where there are not many priests. Catechists in the Sahel live under threat from Islamist extremists. For example, Philippe Yarga was a catechist in the Diocese of Dori in Burkina Faso. Yarga oversaw coordinating pastoral activity in eastern Burkina Faso. He was murdered by terrorists in February 2020 and is survived by his seven children.

Regina explains the extent of ACN’s support for catechists around the world:

“In 2020 alone, we approved aid for more than 18,000 catechists in every continent of the world – most of them in Asia and Africa.”

In 2020, ACN supported 20 projects to provided catechists with the material for their ministry, and 35 projects for the training of catechists. One of these catechists is John Joseph Gazi from South Sudan.

John was forced to flee war in his homeland and join over 1 million refugees in Uganda. John lost his father, sister, and brother during the war in South Sudan. John lost everything except his faith in God. He became determined to help other South Sudanese refugees by teaching them the Catholic Faith.

John therefore decided to train to become a catechist. With the support of ACN he was able to enter training with other young Catholics at the Emmaus Centre, close to the Ugandan capital of Kampala. After completing his training and become a catechist John declared:

“I am now a soldier for Jesus. I am fighting to return souls to God.”

John and his fellow catechists were trained not only in catechetics at the Emmaus Centre, bust also received psychological training. With this training John is ready to spread the Faith amongst the South Sudanese refugees in Uganda and teach them the importance of forgiveness. As John himself said:

“Thanks to my training as a catechist, which was made possible by ACN, I am now able to bring hope and love to my people.”