Totus Tuus is a summer Catholic youth program dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith through evangelization, catechesis, Christian witness, and Eucharistic worship.   Our week-long Parish Summer Catechetical Program assists parents and parishes in the evangelizing and catechizing of their youth by supplementing the work they are already doing.

The methodology, structure, content, and enthusiasm of Totus Tuus is concerned not only with teaching the faith, but also igniting the hearts of the team members and young people.  The result has been the formation of young adults who continue to dedicate themselves to the Church’s mission of evangelization.

Our Mission

Totus Tuus, a Latin phrase meaning “totally yours,” was the motto of Saint Pope John Paul II.  Taken from St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary, it signifies our desire to give ourselves entirely to Jesus Christ through Mary.  It also expresses our effort to give our all to every young person we encounter. Through the team’s example of joy and service, the youth see that these men and women are ON FIRE with the Catholic faith and long for the same thing in their lives.

Our Method

Totus Tuus calls upon college students and seminarians to carry this mission to every young person they encounter in the parish program.  These young men and women are hired for their energy, enthusiasm, love for the faith, commitment to spiritual growth, ability to work with a team, and a desire to work with youth.

Parish teachers are grouped into teams of four each consisting of two men and two women, and are invited to a different parish every week for six-seven weeks, where they conduct a week-long “parish mission”, teaching and inspiring the parish’s first through twelfth grade youth.

The Five Marks of Totus Tuus

1. Proclamation of the Gospel…..to arouse faith
2. Explanation...examination of the reasons for our beliefs
3. Christian Witness...an experience of Christian living
4. Celebration of the Sacraments…especially Holy Eucharist and Confession
5.  Active witness of the Missionary Nature of the Catholic Church

Pope Paul VI wrote, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 41).  With this in mind, Totus Tuus team members are immersed in a life of prayer and give witness to the fruits of that experience of Christian living to the youth.

Additionally, the daily schedule of the Totus Tuus catechist revolves around Holy Mass, the Sacraments, and prayer.  A summer given entirely to God and to the young people of the Diocese would not be possible otherwise.

Karen Kirkland, Coordinator of Children's Catechesis, Cathedral of Christ the King
(859) 266-0302, Email: [email protected]

Kate Blair, Children's Coordinator, Saint Joseph Catholic Church
(859) 338-3167, Email: [email protected]