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CATECHIST CAFE
  • Home
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  • For Catechists
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    • For New Catechists
    • Start Your Faith Formation Year!
    • Lessons and Ideas for all ages & abilities
    • For & With Disabilities
    • Safe Environment/ Protecting Children and Vulnerable Adults
    • Curriculum for Catechesis
    • Feed YOUR Spirit!
    • Diocesan Certification
    • How to create an online lesson
  • Topics in Faith
    • Seasons >
      • Summer Ideas
      • Lent
      • Mother's Day & Father's Day
    • Sacraments
    • Scripture
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      • Saints at Home
      • Mary
      • Saints for All
    • Morality
    • Creed
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    • Against Racism
    • Justice & Peace
    • Prayer
    • Crisis Response
    • Shrines & Pilgrimage Sites
    • Serving & Reaching Out
    • Works of Mercy Videos
  • For Parish Ministers
  • Lay Ecclesial Ministry
  • "Practicing Faith, ​Hope and Love"
  • Jubilee 2025

Welcome to 
Catechist Cafe

RESOURCES & IDEAS
FOR EVANGELIZATION &
​FAITH FORMATION

from the Catholic Diocese of Youngstown
Office of Faith Formation and Lay Ecclesial Ministry
225 Elm Street, Youngstown, Ohio 44503
(330) 744-8451

iStock-Credit: pichit-chuenyen
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        ALLELUIA! 
      HE IS RISEN!!!


      For activities, lesson plans, ideas,  recipes,
                and more to celebrate this most
                        joyful season of the year, 
 
                                    
click here
​
​                    For ASCENSION and PENTECOST,  click here 

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Habemus Papam!

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Credit: Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who has chosen the papal name Leo XIV, appears on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican May 8, 2025, following his election during the conclave. He is the first American pope in history. (OSV News photo/Yara Nardi, Reuters)
A Prayer for the New Pope

O God, who in your providential design
willed that your Church be built upon blessed Peter,
whom you set over the other Apostles,
look with favor, we pray, on Leo our Pope
and grant that he,
whom you have made Peter’s successor,
may be for your people
a visible source and foundation
of unity in faith and of communion.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God, for ever and ever.
Collect of the Mass for the Pope, The Roman Missal, Third Edition

Bishop David J. Bonnar’s statement on Pope Robert Francis Prevost
text of ‘Urbi et Orbi Blessing’ by Pope Leo XIV
Who was Pope Leo XIII, the father of social doctrine? (OSV)
10 things to know about Pope Leo XIV (OSV)

"Care for Creation" Action Plan for the Diocese of Youngstown

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Click here to learn more about it on our Care for Creation page (under the Justice and Peace page
of the "Praying & Serving" menu drop down!  There is so much to explore! 

Click here to see the full document on doy.org 

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Congratulations to now
​Bishop John Keehner

of Sioux City, Iowa, ordained and installed on May 1, 2025.  With appreciation for all you did in the Diocese of Youngstown and for who you are!  Congratulations to the people of your new diocese who will be blessed with your service! 
Diocese of Sioux City, Iowa

Mouring our loss of Pope Francis
while celebrating his new life with
​the Risen Lord

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USCCB Page on Pope Francis, includes links to his documents and prayers
Novena in Memory of Pope Francis from USCCB
A nine-part spiritual reflection on Pope Francis themes, from Francisan Media
A Prayer Service in Memory of Pope Francis from Loyola Press
Remembering Pope Francis, Loyola Press
Ten Ways to Remember Pope Francis, from NFCYM
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Black-draped photo of Pope Francis in Saint Columba Cathedral


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​Adult Faith Formation
Opportunities

The courses are open to anyone wanting to grow deeper
in their faith and learn something new.
​These opportunities are not limited to teachers or catechists,
​althought they do lead towards the possibility of certification.  

Courses begin in April, June and July.
Click on the image or headline to see the course offerings.  Or 
contact Margie Hynes at [email protected]
​or 330-744-8451 for more information.


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​For resources, click:
Jubilee 2025

 The ... Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of
​hope and trust 
as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire; that is why I have chosen as the motto of the Jubilee, Pilgrims of Hope.
- Pope Francis in his letter calling to prepare for this Jubilee celebration  
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The Eucharistic Revival began on
Sunday, ​June 19, 2022, ​​the Feast of Corpus Christi,
and continues through Pentecost 2025.

go to the USCCB Eucharistic Revival website
What is the Eucharistic Revival?
To Gaze on the Eucharist article by Bishop Bonnar
Pope Francis to the Organizing committee of the national Eucharistic congress in the United States
Living the mass the other six days of the week by Joe Poprocki
Parish Year of the Revival
Corpus Christi Novena English
Corpus Christi Novena Spanish
Diocesan Evening of Reflection July 10

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An Ecumenical Christian Prayer

O God, Trinity of love,
from the profound communion
of your divine life,
pour out upon us a torrent of fraternal love.
Grant us the love reflected
​in the actions of Jesus,
in his family of Nazareth,
and in the early Christian community.
Grant that we Christians may live the Gospel,
discovering Christ in each human being,
recognizing him crucified
in the sufferings of the abandoned
and forgotten of our world,
and risen in each brother or sister
who makes a new start.
Come, Holy Spirit, show us your beauty,
reflected in all the peoples of the earth,
so that we may discover anew
that all are important and all are necessary,
different faces of the one humanity
that God so loves. Amen.
​
(concluding prayer of Fratelli Tutti
Given in Assisi, at the tomb of Saint Francis,
on 3 October, Vigil of the Feast of the Saint, in the year 2020)

"Fratelli Tutti"
A call from Pope Francis to live as one family

Short Summary from Vatican News
Long summary from Vatican News
The Encyclical at the Vatican Website
USCCB Study Guide for Fratelli Tutti
Guía de Estudia Sobre la fraternidad y la amistad social
Invite your community to build “a better kind of politics, one truly at the service of the common good” (Fratelli Tutti, no. 154).  
​

Civilize It: A Better Kind of Politics responds to Pope Francis’ call in Fratelli Tutti to “seek the good of all people” (no. 182) by encountering our neighbors and entering into a dialogue that seeks the truth across perspectives. This new initiative challenges Catholics and people of goodwill to cultivate a sense of solidarity with our brothers and sisters that transcends our differences. 
Take the Pledge

​Laudate Deum

A Renewed Call to Care for Our Common Home
Pope Francis released his anticipated follow up to Laudato Si' this week. In the apostolic exhortation, Laudate Deum, Pope Francis calls on all Catholics and people of good will to both recognize and work to solve the climate crisis.
"The world sings of an infinite Love:
​how can we fail to care for it?"

– Pope Francis, Laudate Deum no. 65
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Read Laudate Deum
Prayer inspired by laudate deum
More Resources on Laudate Deum
Click Here to be directed to our Care for Creation page.
​Click Here for frequently asked questions about Laudate Deum.

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"The Church is in a permanent
state of mission"

                                                                         - (Pontifical) Directory for Catechesis, 2020

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DIOCESAN 
LIBRARY
WEBSITE
​Browse the catalog 
BEYOND
BAPTISM
WEBSITE
​Parish support
for faithful families
STORIES & SCRIPTURE WEBSITE
Lessons from popular children's books
DIOCESE OF YOUNGSTOWN WEBSITE
Access the calendar, ministries, and services
RESOURCES for YOUTH & YOUNG ADULT MINISTRIES (Archived)
Find helpful materials for ministering with Y&YAM
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  • Home
    • Contact Us
  • Evangelization
    • Vocations
    • Lay Ecclesial Ministry
    • Missionary Discipleship
    • Small Groups
    • World Childrens Day
  • For Catechists
    • Catechist Courses
    • For New Catechists
    • Start Your Faith Formation Year!
    • Lessons and Ideas for all ages & abilities
    • For & With Disabilities
    • Safe Environment/ Protecting Children and Vulnerable Adults
    • Curriculum for Catechesis
    • Feed YOUR Spirit!
    • Diocesan Certification
    • How to create an online lesson
  • Topics in Faith
    • Seasons >
      • Summer Ideas
      • Lent
      • Mother's Day & Father's Day
    • Sacraments
    • Scripture
    • Saints >
      • Saints at Home
      • Mary
      • Saints for All
    • Morality
    • Creed
    • Church
    • Faithful Citizenship
  • Praying & Serving
    • Against Racism
    • Justice & Peace
    • Prayer
    • Crisis Response
    • Shrines & Pilgrimage Sites
    • Serving & Reaching Out
    • Works of Mercy Videos
  • For Parish Ministers
  • Lay Ecclesial Ministry
  • "Practicing Faith, ​Hope and Love"
  • Jubilee 2025