Bishop of Elphin Kevin Doran
Photo:lifesitenews.com Fifteen volunteer catechists were commissioned for service in the Diocese of Elphin by Bishop Kevin Doran at Mass in Sligo Cathedral over the weekend.
Known as ‘Partners in the Gospel’, the catechists are lay parishioners from parishes across the diocese who have completed a four-year formation programme, including academic studies in Theology and Catechetics at St Angela’s College NUIG.
Speaking at the Mass of commissioning, Bishop Doran explained that the mission of the partners in the Gospel will be to provide opportunities for adult learning at parish level, which will help the whole parish community to grow into a deeper lived relationship with Jesus Christ and to become, in the words of Pope Francis, “missionary disciples”. There will be two teams of catechists, corresponding to the two regions of the Diocese.
Bishop Doran said: “None of what we celebrate today would be possible without the generous support and encouragement of the family members and friends of our new partners.”
He gave special thanks to Bishop Michael Duignan who he said was “instrumental in laying the foundations for the programme and guiding it for the first three years, before he moved to Clonfert”.