Catechesis of the Good Shepherd opens in SIC

Mar 07, 2019

By Ken Cham
St Ignatius Church (SIC) Parish Priest, Fr Andrew Wong CDD, blessed the new Atrium located on the second floor of the new extension building adjoining Costantini Community Centre. The blessing was held on Feb 22, the Feast of the Chair of St Peter the Apostle.

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) is a parent-child faith formation programme for children. It takes place in the Atrium, which is a sacred, hands-on space in which children, their parents and catechists can reflect, hear and celebrate the essential mysteries of the Catholic faith as revealed in sacred scripture and the liturgy.

Children have the opportunity to respond in their own way to the materials presented, e.g. a parable, Bible enthronement, an explanation of the altar, grace and courtesy whilst at the Atrium, significance of Jerusalem in salvation history.

Originating in 1954, CGS was developed in Rome by Dr Sofia Cavalletti (a Biblical scholar trained in Catholic theology) and Montessori educator Gianna Gobbi. It adopts a Montessori-based approach to faith formation for children aged 3 to 12. The Montessori method of education – developed by Maria Montessori and used for more than 100 years in many parts of the world – is a child-focused educational approach based on scientific observations of children.

Sessions are held every Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am. The first session started on February 23, 2019. As of date, the eight students already enrolled will be taught by three trained catechists and six assistant catechists. According to CGS Coordinator Angeline Kam, her hope is for every child to be able to undergo this parent-child journey, to develop a deep understanding of, and love for, our Catholic faith; that they grow up never to leave the Church, and turn to God always.

Also present at the opening were Assistant Parish Priest Fr Lawrence Ng CDD, Bro Joseph Lim CDD and Sr Maria Chan who is part of the Mandarin CGS, which will commence in late June 2019. Churches with Atriums have given SIC the honour to host the Level 1 Part 1 CGS training programme to be held from May 27 to 1 June 2019, 9.00am to 5.00pm.