Instituting the Ministry of Catechist

Pope Francis has instituted a new ministry of “catechist” describing it as a “stable form of service” carried out by lay people.

In an Apostolic Letter setting out the change, Antiquum Ministerium (Ancient Ministry), the Pope says the role is open to men and women who have a vocation to teach the Christian faith.

A special “Rite of Institution” which inducts catechists into their role will soon be drawn up by the Vatican’s divine worship department while it will be up to bishops to draw up the “process of formation and the normative criteria for admission to this ministry.”

Until now, however, the work of a catechist has not been recognised as a formal ministry, although the Pope explained in his ruling that it dates back to the early Christian era.

“From the beginning, the Christian community was characterised by many different forms of ministry carried out by men and women who, obedient to the working of the Holy Spirit, devoted their lives to the building up of the Church,” Francis writes.

Over the 2,000 years of Christian history, the Pope explains, many “lay men and women” helped to “spread of the Gospel through catechetical instruction.” They were, he said, “men and women of deep faith, authentic witnesses of holiness, who in some cases were also founders of Churches and eventually died as martyrs.”

The Pope said that formally recognising lay ministerial roles underlines the “missionary commitment proper to every baptised person” but in a way that is carried out in the world, and avoiding any form of “clericalisation”.

The document was presented at a Vatican press conference by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelisation, pointed out that role of the catechist is carried out “not primarily in the liturgical sphere” but in passing on the faith.

Issued 10 May 2021