Catechism
The Birth and Formation
The ministry of catechesis holds an important place in the life and mission of the church and in the faith formation of the people of the God.Therefore, the Church considers catechesis as her great responsibility and inalienable right. Jesus, before his ascension into the heaven , entrusted to the apostles the mission to proclaim the Gospel to the entire creation and make disciples of all nations baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that He had commanded them. Taking up this responsibility from the lord the church has always kept the ministry of catechesis in high esteem.
Catechesis is an education to faith. In this process the child is oriented towards a meaningful relationship with God in his life situations.In order to give the traditional faith formation for our children, we started Catechism classes in 2007 by the Committee with the initiative of Mr James Zachariah. At first, it was a single class, but when the number of pupil increased it became two. At the end of the year there were 46 children .The arrival of Fr.Johnson Chalissery as the Chaplian of Syro -Malabar Community gave boost to the faith formation programme. The teachers were Biju Mathew, Devassia P.C, Shibu A.P, Saji Antony, Thomas Baby, Jessy Tom, Jessy Baby and Rani James. In 2008 when more families came to Cork we started a unit in St.Francis church, Cork City.
The catechetical educational year is September to June every year. School closes for the summer vacation during July and August according to the academic calendar of the Ireland. An option to write the exams either in Malayalam or English is given to the children. Today, in the 4th year, we have more than 100 children in levels I through XII and a strength of 20 dedicated and dynamic teachers. They are being spiritually guided by our Parish Priest and Director of Catechism, Fr.Johnson Chalissery, for the smooth running of the programme.On this occasion I appreciate catechism teachers who generously render their service for the faith formation of our children.I wish and pray that this new venture may help to coordinate and animate the catechetical ministry of our Community.