This past Saturday, April 6th, the diocese of Brooklyn’s annual catechetical congress was held. Brooklyn diocese’s Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio was the keynote speaker at the congress, held at the Immaculate Conception Center in Douglaston, Queens.
Bishop DiMarzio’s speech was focused on building up the Catholic faith. Leaders of the Catholic faith from all over the nation and even the vatican attended the congress. Many of the leader’s speeches focused on strenghtening the Catholic faith and bringing together parishoners.
Bishope DiMarzio has been focused on this mission of building and strenghtening the Catholic faith for about two years, when he set up the new office of the Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis. This new office focuses on parish life, faith formation, and bringing together the Catholic family.
The Bishop’s inviting message of being a welcoming diocese that “invites people to share in the great wisdom of the Church” related to the Vatican’s evangelization Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst’s speech.
“…we are the universal Church in different languages, different cultures; but we are able to fight together, to stick together in this unifying faith.”
Bishop Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, Brooklyn Diocese 2019 Catehectical Congress
Overall, this year’s Brooklyn Diocese’s Catechtical Congress was focused on evangelization and strengthening the Catholic church as a whole. A message of how the Catholic faith transends language barriers and cultural issues, to bring together people, was felt in all of the speeches. Many directors of faith formation change their programs as society changes and come to the Congress to learn new ideas.
Lisa Sampson, Director of Religious Education at Our Lady of Light in Saint Albans, Queens
“We’re always looking for new ways to enliven our programs, change according to society and the needs of the people in our parishes. And I came away with a lot of good tips and ideas,”
If you would like to read more about the Brooklyn 2019 Catechetical Congress click here.
The Brooklyn Diocese’s Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis’ website is here.
