What is the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd?

The premise behind the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Christian Formation Process is that children desire to draw near to God, but they need the sensitive guidance of the adult as well as the inner guidance of the Holy Spirit to nurture this relationship. The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd is not a “Sunday School” curriculum for children but a particular way of journeying with children toward God. It seeks to involve adults and children from ages 3-15 in a common religious experience through which all can form an authentic faith relationship with God.

The Catechesis is grounded in scripture and liturgy (worship traditions) and is framed by Maria Montessori’s educational principles. This process allows children to hear the gospel through the free use of sensory rich material that represent essential proclamations of the Christian message.

The adult’s task is to prepare the space for the children, called the Atrium and share the presentations with the children. The Atrium is the place in which the children can respond to their relationship with God, first proclaimed to them through Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

The Catechesis is an ecumenical movement found worldwide in many traditions, predominantly Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran and United Methodist. The vision for this faith formation began in 1954 in Rome with Dr. Sofia Cavalletti, a Roman Catholic Hebrew Scripture scholar, and her colleague, Professor Gianna Gobbi, a Montessori trained educator. Dr. Cavalletti is the author of four important works that share the knowledge she has gained from working with children for more than 50 years: The Religious Potential of the Child, the Description of an Experience with Children from Ages Three to Six; The Religious Potential of the Child, 6 to 12 Years Old; Living Liturgy; and History’s Golden Thread, The History of Salvation.

At Beloved Garden, we call this process FaithQuest. To enroll a child in this process, please link to Faith Quest.

For more information on the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, please link to the National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.