On August 21st and 28th, catechists from across the Diocese of Tyler joined the St. Philip Institute team for dynamic days of teaching, prayer and fellowship. It was a great joy to gather as a diocese for an in person catechist conference after hosting the annual catechist conference online in 2020 due to Covid-19.  

Henry Troell from St. Theresa Catholic Church in Gladewater spoke on Youth Ministry at the English Catechist Conference.

This year the St. Philip Institute offered an English and a Spanish catechist conference. This was the first time a catechist conference was offered exclusively in Spanish. Over 340 catechists from across the diocese participated in these two days of ongoing formation. 

The theme for this year’s conferences was “Proclaiming the Truth with Joy.” Both conferences were held at St. Matthew’s Catholic Church in Longview. 

Topics for this year’s conference included: the liturgical and catechetical dimensions of RCIA, The Way of the Holy Family Baptism preparation training, the vocation of a catechist and classroom management, and much more.

Teresa Ramirez from the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Tyler spoke on RCIA at the Spanish Catechist Conference.

At the conferences, the St. Philip Institute launched a new catechist certification process for the Diocese of Tyler. You can learn more about the catechist certification process here.  

The St. Philip Institute would like to thank Msgr. Xavier Pappu and St. Matthew’s Catholic Church for hosting the English and Spanish Catechist Conferences this year!