Office for Lay Ministries

Mission Statement for the Department for Religious Education

The Department for Religious Education is a collaborative community of faith commissioned to serve the mission of the Diocese of Pittsburgh and authorized by the Bishop to give direction to the catechetical ministry of this local church. The Department provides assistance and support to parish leaders and calls them to accountability for their responsibility for catechetical ministry. Faithful to the Church’s catechetical documents, the Department develops services, resources, and leadership which enable all persons to come to know Jesus Christ and to grow in the Christian life of sharing the faith tradition of the Catholic Church.

The National Directory for Catechesis describes the relationship between Catechesis and Evangelization in the Church as this:

The Church exists to evangelize.  Evangelization expresses the Church's identity and completes the mission entrusted to her by her founder, Jesus Christ.  Catechesis is a significant moment in the process of evangelization.  Through comprehensive, systematic instruction and initiation into the life of the community through the Liturgy, sacraments, and service, catechesis deepens and strengthens the believer as a member of the Body of Christ, the Church.

Christ calls all members of the Church to proclaim Christ to every generation…Catechesis is an important moment in the evangelizing mission of the Church.  Catechesis echoes the word of God contained in Revelation, transmitted through Scripture and Tradition, and faithfully preserved in the teaching authority of the Church.

Contact Sharon Hachman for more information about  Lay Ministries in the Diocese of Pittsburgh.