Regional Faith Formation

Posted on
March 11, 2024
in
Diocese News, Feature Stories, Youth and Young Adults

By Cliff Gorski
Executive Editor

Since the beginning of the Church, the young have played an important role in its formation. It was through a young boy that Jesus received the gift of five barley loaves and two fish and was able to miraculously feed the 5,000 tired and hungry people who gathered after traveling a long way to see Him.

Vincent Reilly, Managing Director for Faith, Family and Discipleship for the Diocese of Greensburg, believes that it will truly be through youth faith formation programs that the Diocese and its next generation of disciples will be transformed.

Reilly is keenly aware that youth participation in Mass and involvement in other aspects of spiritual life are in decline.

“Rather than lament this fact, the Diocese of Greensburg is being very proactive reaching out to all families through a comprehensive faith formation program,” Reilly said.

“The ways that our youth learn today are much different than how their parents or grandparents learned. Our goal is to provide experiential catechesis in which we help all of our youth establish a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through fun and engaging activities in every parish in our Diocese,” he said, pointing to the popular “KNOW HIM” experiential series thousands from across the Diocese participated in last year.

When you make a gift to the 2024 Diocesan Lenten Appeal, your donation helps transform faith formation experiences for youth and families throughout the Diocese of Greensburg. Your support enables the Diocese to have faith formation leaders and youth ministers providing experiential catechesis programs in all 78 parishes of the Diocese.

“We have reviewed programs that other dioceses are providing, and we realize that our plan is groundbreaking and will move us forward in reaching youth in more ways,” Reilly said. “Not only will we be engaging youth and families, but our new faith formation programming will provide a vibrant presence in our parishes by providing them with the opportunity to have a personal relationship with Christ.”