Formation
Children and Youth Formation
The Diocese of Tyler’s process for preparing and educating children for the sacraments.
Approved Catechetical Programs
Bishop Strickland has given the St. Philip Institute responsibility for creating and recommending materials used for faith formation across all the parishes in the Diocese.
Elementary Formation
Any of the following programs are permitted for use:
Faith and Life from Ignatius Press.
This series is a comprehensive catechetical series for Grades 1-8. It features a solid doctrinal text with a focus on salvation history, enhanced by beautiful classical and original artwork. Based on the story of salvation history, each grade level speaks of the story of God’s love to lead the student to encounter Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Student texts are available in English or in a bilingual edition.
Alive in Christ/Vivos en Christos from Our Sunday Visitor
Vivos en Cristo is a fully-bilingual religion curriculum for Grades 1-8 that teaches children and families to know, love, and live their Catholic faith through Sacred Scripture, doctrine, prayer, practices of the faith, and seasonal celebrations. It is available in English or in a bilingual edition.
WORD OF LIFE from the Augustine Institute
This new program for Pre-K through Grade 8 combines the four “golden catechetical threads” (salvation history, Christian anthropology, heroic virtue & character formation and learning through discipleship) to teach the Catholic faith and explain why it is relevant in our modern culture. Both the student and teacher books are available in English or in a bilingual edition.
“The family is, so to speak, the domestic church. In it parents should, by their word and example, be the first preachers of the faith to their children; they should encourage them in their vocation which is proper to each of them, fostering with special care a vocation to a sacred state.” (Lumen Gentium, 11)
Youth Formation
Any of the following programs are permitted for use:
The Way of Christ for Teens: “To Whom Shall We Go?” written by Fr. Justin Braun and produced by the St. Philip Institute for the Diocese of Tyler.
The program is a youth formation year text for the fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church, and how young Catholics should discern their vocations. The goal is to help teens solidify the connection between knowledge of and relationship to Christ. He is the one to whom we go.
The Student Edition has 28 lessons complete with an overview, saint quote, opening prayer, Sacred Scripture, references to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, lesson content, and discussion questions for a full year of catechism classes.
The Teacher Edition has the same content as the Student Edition plus teaching suggestions. The lesson plans for each lesson are laid out and ready to use.
Student texts are only available in English, but the Spanish teacher’s manual (Manual del Maestro) is free online.
Questions?
Pastors, catechists, and others who have questions about curriculum options for faith formation should contact the Director of Faith Formation, Dr. Luke Arredondo.