Essential Catholicism seeks to form baptized adults in a mature adult faith that is "a living, explicit, and fruitful confession of faith." (General Directory for Catechesis) It advocates for a "a strong, complete, and systematic catechesis…that nurtures a profound, lifelong comprehensive, contemporary synthesis of the faith…." (Our Hearts Were Burning Within Us)

Essential Catholicism is for adult Catholics seeking a deeper, more personal relationship with Jesus Christ; a richer understanding of the Church’s tradition, teachings, prayer and worship; an increased appreciation of the Church’s journey of faith and an experience of a Christian learning community.

Topics. Subjects covered include the Scriptures, The Life of Christ, The Story of the Church, the Creed, the Sacraments, Moral Life and Prayer. Participants should have access to a Bible and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Experienced Presenters. Experienced teachers from university, parish and diocesan settings serve as faculty in the program.

Flexible Scheduling & Format. Your parish, joint parishes, cluster, deanery or vicariate selects the days/dates/times for the program. The basic program is seven two-hour meetings. The program can be extended or customized to meet the learning needs of your community.

Involvement. The Office for Catechesis provides to the sponsoring group: personal consultation on Essential Catholicism; a listing of presenters; a reproducible marketing brochure; a reproducible student workbook for your participants with suggested outside readings, reflection questions and resources; reproducible Certificate of Participation for participants. Your parish or sponsoring group recruits and registers participants; provides a meeting place; provides a site coordinator who oversees sessions; provides hospitality and pays the speaker stipend and program fees.

Cost. Parish or sponsoring group directly gives a fair stipend to the presenter and a small fee to Office for Catechesis to help cover services provided. (See above) Your parish or sponsoring group may wish to charge a registration fee per participant and/or subsidize the program. Please call to request exact cost of the program. The Office for Catechesis will attempt to offer Essential Catholicism to those parishes or areas with limited financial resources.