Initiatives for the formation
of the lay faithful

The Youth Catechism, YOUCAT, is today a global bestseller and one of the most effective instruments of New Evangelization on all continents. YOUNG MISSIO international is the official “train the trainers” course by the YOUCAT Foundation. The course aims at forming a generation of young, vibrant and knowledgeable missionaries who are equipped and sent to pass on the fire of New Evangelization to others. During the course participants from all over the world learn how to use the YOUCAT books, methods and digital tools to address young people to get them excited about God and the Church. And they will learn how to conduct a YOUNG MISSIO in their own nations and contexts.

Pope Francis stresses over and over again that we cannot leave the proclamation of the Gospel to the experts. Everyone who has been baptized is called to be a missionary disciple. The YOUCAT enables every believer to become a missionary disciple through its materials, tools, methods and media. Especially through this course, young adults, youth catechists, catechetical leaders, pastoral workers, but also especially lay people between 18 – 35 years of age who have a desire for New Evangelization will learn and be empowered to use the YOUCAT methods, tools and media to excite others, especially the young, for the contents of faith. The tools they will learn are made in a way that they can be easily implemented in different contexts. From its methodology the YOUCAT works for “dialogical catechesis.” Through this method participants will also learn how to do catechesis in a wholesome, youth friendly and exciting way and in a way that integrates and excites young people to become active themselves.

Without catechesis, the Church does not know what she is doing and ultimately loses its own identity. Nowadays, more than ever, believers need to be able to know their faith and to be able to speak about it in attractive and informed ways. Moreover, the next generation needs to be reached with the Good News and helped to integrate themselves fully into the Church. YOUNG MISSIO international does not only help participants to get to know their faith but also empowers them to pass on the contents of faith with the YOUCAT to others, and then become trainers themselves.

After its release in 2011 by Pope Benedict in Madrid, YOUCAT has continued to publish further catechetical material (For our full books list, see www.youcat.org) But YOUCAT has never been just about books! On all continents the youth have started to get to know the Catholic faith through our materials and to turn into real players of New Evangelization who started remarkable initiatives in their nations. The YOUCAT Foundation has formed a network of New Evangelization with them and has been heavily involved in activities of New Evangelization throughout the years (e.g. World Youth Days, World Meeting of Families, Missionary Cooperation Project with Lourdes, etc.) During this time, one of the questions we got asked the most was: “How do I work with your materials?” Out of this question, in 2017 the YOUCAT Foundation has started to gather best practice examples and to produce official methods and tools on how to work with our books. YOUNG MISSIO international aims at helping those, who want to learn how to work with our books and how to become a player of New Evangelization through the instrument of YOUCAT themselves.

By becoming empowered to be a missionary disciple through the YOUCAT.

This initiative is financed through course fee, donations, and subsidies.

www.youcat.org/youngmissio

All over the world the YOUCAT materials are being used, and many remarkable initiatives of New Evangelization have started. Especially due to the forewords by Pope Benedict and Pope Francis in the YOUCAT and DOCAT and YOUCAT for Kids, those books have given rise to innovative grass-roots as well as to official initiatives by bishops conferences and churches on all continents, the most notable ones being in the Philippines, Indonesia, Brazil, Colombia, Panama, Lebanon, Croatia and Cameroon. The YOUCAT Daily (also see www.youcat.org /daily) is available in 6 languages. The DOCAT APP (our App on Social Doctrine) is available in 9 languages. Our books are available on all continents. Just to name our most prominent books: The youth catechism YOUCAT was licensed in 70 languages. DOCAT is available in 43 languages. YOUCAT for Kids is available in 28 languages. Our other books such as the Y Bible and books on confirmation and confession are translated in many nations and in all the main languages.

In order to implement this in your own context, it is advised that you first attend an offical YOUNG MISSIO course by the YOUCAT Foundation. If this is not possible, you may also contact office@youcat.org. You can find out about the dates of the course at www.youcat.org/youngmissio