CATECHESI

CATECHESIS. — The oral instruction in the Christian religion given by a competent minister of the Church.

According to its etymological meaning, the word c. (κατήχησις from the verb κατηχέω, to cause the voice to come from above, “to echo” or “to cause an echo”; figuratively: to teach by word of mouth, so that the master’s word is like an echo to the disciple’s question, and the disciple’s answer to the master’s question) evokes the idea of a question and an answer. Such is the principal form of c. from the very beginning: a mutual dialogue. In this sense the verb κατηχεῖν is used in the New Testament by St. Luke, who composed his Gospel to remind Theophilus of what he had already learned from their dialogue: περὶ τῶν κατηχημένων (Lk. 1, 4); he describes Apollos as κατηχημένος τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ Κυρίου (Acts 18, 25); St. Paul speaks in the assembly (ἐκκλησίας) to instruct (ἵνα κατηχηθῶ, I Cor. 14, 19) and wishes that he who is instructed (ὁ κατηχημένος) should communicate with him who catechizes (τὰ κατηχηθέντα, Gal. 6, 6); Rom. 2, 18 signifies religious instruction in general. Hence, among the Greek Fathers, the use of the word κατηχητής, and among the Latins, of the word catechesis to denote either the action of teaching, or the religious instruction itself, or even its object.

With the organization of Christian catechumenate, this term takes on a more precise and restricted meaning: it is applied particularly to the oral instruction which serves to prepare for Baptism, and consequently is addressed only to the uninitiated. Another form of c., employed from the beginning, is preaching, by which the Christian message is spread. The manner and development of the instruction vary according to the audience: different for Jews, different for Gentiles.

OUTLINE:

I. Apostolic Catechesis

II. Post-Apostolic Catechesis

III. From the beginning of the 3rd century to the middle of the 5th century

IV. From the end of the 5th century to St. Gregory the Great. — V. From St. Gregory the Great to the Council of Trent. — VI. From the Council of Trent to our own times.

### Days. - VII. Catechesis in the Current Legislation of the Church.

VIII. Catechesis in the Missions

IX. Catechesis in Christian Archaeology.

#### 1. Apostolic Catechesis.
Before the appearance of the New Testament writings (written catechesis), oral catechesis was already alive and operative, an authentic expression of the Church’s magisterium and the primary source of written catechesis, which began with Peter’s first discourse (Acts 2:14-36) and developed rapidly as Christianity spread in extent and depth. In this ministry, the Apostles were assisted by a special class of catechists called in the New Testament "evangelists" or heralds of the "good news," to whom were added the "doctors" or "teachers," that is, persons endowed by the Spirit with the "gift" of teaching (cf. Acts 21:8; 8:5 ff.; 40; Eph. 4:11; 2 Tim. 4:5; Rom. 12:7; 1 Cor. 12:8). The "evangelists" were perhaps entrusted with the first evangelization, while the "doctors" or "teachers" had the task of perfecting instruction, always under the Apostles’ authority. No text or formulary of apostolic catechesis has come down to us. However, the discourses recorded in the Acts of the Apostles allow us, in some measure, to reconstruct its main lines (discourses of Peter: Acts 2:14-40; 3:12-26; 5:29-32; 10:34-43; discourses of Paul: Acts 13:16-41; 17:22-31; discourse of Stephen: Acts 7:2-53). Above all, the Synoptic Gospels reflect and express apostolic catechesis. The so-called Apostles’ Creed (v.) cannot, in its present form, be traced back to the Apostles, but its content is apostolic. Similarly, the Didache or "Doctrine of the Twelve Apostles" (which is not to be identified with the "doctrine of the Apostles," Acts 2:42; cf. Titus 1:9), a precious document from the sub-apostolic age, is a vestige of the Apostles’ moral catechesis, especially in its first part (chaps. 1-6), which, under the form of the "two ways" (cf. Matt. 7:13 ff.), contains the principal norms of Christian life, with long lists of sins that find counterparts in the apostolic letters (cf. Rom. 1:29; Gal. 5:19 ff.; 1 Tim. 1:9 ff.; 2 Tim. 3:2 ff.).

The method of apostolic catechesis must have been that of oral instruction repeated many times, in simple and practical form. The general subject was faith in Christ and the conditions for salvation. Yet both the method and the object, though sharing fundamental lines, varied according to the hearers. These were divided first into two great categories: Jews and Gentiles. In catechesis to Jews, it was essential to recall the economy of the Old Testament and the prophecies, to show their fulfillment and realization in Christ (cf. the two classic discourses: Peter’s in Jerusalem, Acts 2:14-36, and Paul’s in Antioch of Pisidia, 13:16-41); for Gentiles, it was first necessary to remove the obstacle of paganism and inculcate faith in one God who is Creator and Redeemer (Paul’s discourse in Athens, Acts 17:22-31). Moreover, catechesis could be addressed to a new audience, people to be won for the faith, or to those already initiated (who might be catechumens, neophytes, or mature Christians). Hence a distinction must be made between a first and rudimentary catechesis (such as, for example, that given to the Ethiopian eunuch, Acts 8:27-38) and a more extensive and profound catechesis (cf. Acts 18:26; St. Paul distinguishes between the work of "planting" and that of "watering," between laying foundations and building upon them, 1 Cor. 3:6-10). Among the "first elements of the word of God" (Heb. 5:12) are listed repentance and faith in God, Baptism and Confirmation, the resurrection and the final judgment (Heb. 6:1-3). This faith in God necessarily implied faith in Jesus Christ, the divine bond and Son of God; indeed, care was taken to announce Christ from the very beginning of catechesis so as to impart at least a summary knowledge of His life and work (cf. Acts 8:25; 10:36-43; to the centurion Cornelius). Around these common fundamental themes, all other elements—dogmatic, moral, and historical—were developed in an orderly and gradual manner.

Although there were many catechists (Apostles, evangelists, doctors), primitive catechesis had a fundamental unity, as evidenced by the various discourses in the Acts; the themes and motifs common to all can easily be discerned despite the variety of form suggested by improvisation and circumstances. Moreover, it is easy to suppose that, under the Apostles’ influence, catechesis developed in a certain order, according to a common line and a well-defined doctrinal schema (cf. Acts 2:42, "doctrine of the Apostles"; Rom. 6:17, "form of doctrine"; above all, Luke 1:2 traces the program of catechesis back to eyewitnesses, the Apostles). Later, particular forms or types of catechesis could emerge according to the different needs of the environment (for example, that of Jerusalem, directed especially to Jews or converts from Judaism; that of Antioch, which had to adapt to the needs of a mixed audience, Jews and Gentiles; and that of Rome, with a predominance of the Gentile element). Similarly, one may speak more specifically of the catechesis of Peter, Paul, John, and the other Apostles, in reflection of the particular doctrine contained in their writings. But these are developments, adaptations, branches of the primitive and common type of catechesis, whose fabric can rightly be traced back to the Apostle Peter, both because of the prominent place he held among the first heralds of the "good news" and because his discourses seem to have outlined the main lines of catechesis (cf. Acts 1:22; 2:22-40; 10:36-43). This catechesis was not the product of a collective creative effort, as many rationalists and, more recently, the advocates of the "form-critical method" (Formgeschichte) maintain, but the expression of a magisterium guaranteed by the most immediate and authoritative sources (Luke 1:2; Acts 10:41).

The dogmatic and moral catechesis of the Apostles embraced, as can easily be deduced, the principal

dogmatic truths and moral norms based on the teaching of Jesus. It is highly probable that even in apostolic times there existed a kind of formulary that expressed in summary the most elementary truths. A. Seeberg has attempted to reconstruct, starting from 1 Cor 15:3, this rudimentary “creed,” which would essentially include the following points: God, creator of all things, sent his Son, born of the lineage of David, Jesus Christ, who died for us, was buried, and rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures, ascended to the right hand of the Father, and will return on the clouds of heaven with majesty and power (Der Katechismus..., p. 85). But such a reconstruction, which is a museum of fragmentary data scattered throughout the various writings of the New Testament, is subjective and insufficient. Above all, the apostolic preaching could not fail to include an explicit mention of the Holy Spirit and thus of the Trinitarian dogma: indeed, Baptism was not conferred except on those who had some knowledge of the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 19:3); and the Trinitarian formula prescribed (Mt 28:19) was essential in Baptism. Rather, it seems possible to affirm that the basis of dogmatic truths in apostolic preaching did not substantially differ from the content of the current Apostles’ Creed, which by the second century was affirmed everywhere as the genuine expression of the Apostles’ teaching.

But greater prominence was given to historical preaching. Indeed, it was supremely important for the Apostles to make known first in a summary way and then in ever more adequate measure the person and work of Jesus, his doctrine, the miracles he performed, and the rites he instituted. Within the framework of this preaching, as is evident from the discourses in the Acts of the Apostles, preference was given to the facts of the public life, “from the baptism to the death and Ascension” (according to the schema outlined by Peter: Acts 1:22), especially those relating to the ministry in Galilee, which offered the greatest number of miracles and a form of doctrine that was easier and more limited. Facts and discourses that, because of their delicacy and sublimity, could not be the object of ordinary preaching (such as the more sublime discourses reported in the Fourth Gospel), necessarily belonged to a higher teaching.

The expression and reflection of apostolic preaching are the Synoptic Gospels (the Fourth Gospel stands apart, and its singularity is due to the direct experience of the Apostle John, who is its author). It is known that around the year 60, at the time of the composition of the Third Gospel, several compilations (Lk 1:1 ff.) already existed concerning the facts of Jesus’ life. Among these writings, the first two Gospels were certainly included; the others have been lost because the Church took no interest in them. But all of them, like the Gospel of Luke, drew from the common source, from apostolic preaching or kerygma: they were based, that is, on the authentic testimony of those “who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word” (Lk 1:2). The importance of apostolic preaching in the Synoptics is evident at a glance. The content and common structure of the narrative (including the preaching of John the Baptist and the beginnings of Jesus’ public life, the ministry in Galilee, some salient events of the ministry in Judea, and the well-circumscribed account of the Passion and Resurrection) reflect the broad outlines of the kerygma; likewise, the discourses of Christ reported therein are those that, because of their moral and parabolic content, were most widely used in oral instruction. What Clement of Alexandria says of Mark (in Eusebius, Hist. ecc., II, 15, 1-2), that at the insistence of the Romans he committed to writing “the preaching delivered orally” by Peter, must be affirmed of the other Synoptics as well, namely that they recorded in their Gospels the facts and discourses of Jesus along the lines of the kerygma, apart from the preferences and adjustments that, without altering the substance, responded to the particular purpose of each.

Even for the so-called “Synoptic question,” the factor of oral preaching cannot be neglected; while it is insufficient by itself to explain the singular phenomenon, it nonetheless provides good elements for approaching a solution. If indeed one admits that the kerygma followed a common line, according to a substantially uniform type, but that, on the other hand, from place to place and from one mouth to another it could not avoid differences in detail and form, one can in some way understand, even apart from other considerations, how in the Synoptics the substantial agreement is not divorced from variations and divergences in particulars and expressions. But regarding this question V. SINOTTICI, VANGELI.

II. POST-APOSTOLIC PREACHING

A precious document from the period immediately following the apostolic age is the Didachē, which in its first six chapters offers a model of preaching addressed to catechumens before Baptism.

It sets forth the two ways, one leading to life through the practice of the double evangelical precept: love of God and of neighbor, with the moral rule: do not do to others what you would not have done to you; the other, the way of death, which is avoided by not committing the sins that are listed. Although this preaching does not speak of what is to be believed—it is limited exclusively to the precepts of moral life—nevertheless it presupposes that some have manifested their desire to renounce pagan life and to profess the Christian life, and therefore it presupposes at least a rudimentary knowledge of pagan errors and Christian truths. Moreover, it exhibits a mode of primitive instruction, such as was in use for a long time both in the East (in Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, Carthage, as evidenced by the applications of the Didachē found in the Letter of Pseudo-Barnabas, in the Constitutiones Apostolorum, etc.) and in the West (which reappears in the ancient Latin version), in the Doctrina domini Severini episcopi (5th cent.), in the Rule of St. Benedict, ch. 4 (6th cent.), in the Ammonitio sive praedicatorium of St. Boniface, bishop (8th cent.; ms. of Melk: DACL, II, col. 2542 ff.), in the Dittico of St. Pirmin (d. before 754, etc.); cf. J. Schleich, Die Apostellehre in der Liturgie der Katholischen Kirche (Freiburg 1901, pp. 84 ff., 127, 129).

Another aspect of primitive preaching has come down to us in the doctrinal content of the Creed, which, composed of phrases contained in the writings of the Apostles, had its primitive redaction in the baptismal Creed not after the 2nd century. The formula “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt 28:19) presents the nucleus of the Trinitarian part, to which the Christological part was soon added, according to Acts (2:38; 8:16; 10:48; 19:5). Once composed, the Creed had to be explained to those who presented themselves as catechumens, and therefore the teaching of this formula of faith and its explanation are intimately linked with Christian initiation. Indeed, in a solemn assembly the bishop would give the text with his commentary, and in less solemn gatherings the Creed would be repeated until it was perfectly memorized and defended against any alteration or variant due to the activity of dissenting sects. Therefore, the essentials of the rule of faith are found in the Apostolic Fathers, especially in St. Ignatius of Antioch, and in the apologists, in St. Justin, Aristides, St. Irenaeus (cf. A. Harnack,

The main ideas of the Symbol that were to be expounded both to catechumens and to the faithful were these: the Messiah has come; His earthly life, the Crucifixion, burial, Resurrection and exaltation; He is a true earthly man, with an earthly mother, and is true God, Son of God; the miracle of His birth reveals, the mystery of His person. As a king’s son retains his majesty even in poverty and servitude, so Jesus preserves the insignia of His divinity in His humiliation. The formula of the Eastern symbol differed from that of the West until the Council of Nicaea (cf. J. Kunz, Das nicaeno-konstantinopolitanische Symbol, Leipzig 1898). At Rome, in the first three centuries, the catechumenate was conducted in two languages, Greek and Latin, for obvious reasons. An echo of this survives in the ritual question of the celebrant on the day of Baptism: «Qua lingua confitentur Dominum nostrum Iesum Christum?»

The Two Ways and the Creed represent all that remains to us of the catechetical themes during the first two centuries according to the documents. Fortunately, Christian literature has preserved a certain number of writings which reflect the method and object of the instruction given to the Gentiles to lead them to a knowledge of the fundamental Christian truths, such as, for example, the First Apology of St Justin at Rome and the Exhortation to the Greeks of Clement of Alexandria, which insist also before the Gentiles on the divinity of Jesus, proved by the existence and fulfilment of the prophecies. On the other hand, the Protrepticus of Clement of Alexandria urgently invites pagans to abandon paganism on account of its absurdity and its ignominies and to heed the salutary teaching of the incarnate Word, since He has always had pity on us and came to free us, and has sent us the Paraclete who exhorts us to know the truth. The practical conclusion—thus the method of Theophilus of Antioch in his three books To Autolycus—is to expiate sins by penance and by Baptism, to draw near to Christ, to embrace His doctrine, to obey His precepts, in order to have a share in His inheritance; otherwise, the punishments that will never end are to be feared.

The apologists instruct on two things: they explain and defend the idea of a spiritual, omnipotent, transcendent God, the concept of the mediating Logos, of good and bad angels, demonstrate the advantages of Christianity, expound how it is innocent, beneficent, peaceful, worthy of respect; dispelling calumnies, defamations, fanaticism, they present the Bible as the source of all wisdom and truth, the supernatural operation of faith as transforming the soul into divine virtues. Strictly Christian mysteries are however lacking: of the Most Holy Trinity, of the Incarnation, of original sin, of Redemption, of Grace, of the Sacraments. When, instead, the apologists address themselves to the faithful, they penetrate more deeply into the content of Christianity: proof of this is found in a series of writings which set forth supposed discussions between Christians and Jews, but with the intention, more than of converting the Jews, of confirming the faithful in the faith.

Thus the Altercatio Simonis et Theophili (PG, 5, 1278 sqq.) of Ariston of Pella, the Dialogue with Trypho the Jew (PG, 6, 471 sqq.) of Justin, the Altercatio legis inter Simonem Iudaeum et Theophilum Christianum of Evagrius, the Adversus Iudaeos of Tertullian and others. Although the apologies were not a catechesis in the strict sense, nevertheless they greatly aided the instruction of the people; they enable us better to know the delicate points on which the teachers and the catechetical instruction of the second century had to insist, and they form a kind of pre-catechesis or preparatory and initiatory discourses to the whole of Christian doctrine (cf. A. Puech, Recherches sur le discours aux Grecs de Tatien, Paris 1903, p. 99; P. Batiffol, Introduction to the work of J. Rivière, S. Justin et les apologistes du second siècle, Paris 1907, p. XV; H. Leclercq, Catéchèse, in DACL, II, cols. 2546-49).

Another element which in its own way entered into the catechesis was the existence of penitents and of the sins committed by them. Penance involved different degrees according to the gravity of the sins. A. Seeberg, Der Katechismus der Urchristenheit (Leipzig 1903), pp. 25-30, has compiled a whole list of the sins mentioned in the writings of the early Christian authors, as well as of the virtues which are more or less clearly prescribed (cf. H. Leclercq, Catéchèse, in DACL, II, cols. 2550-52).

Some sins committed after Baptism were reckoned irremissible and with them one incurred excommunication and exclusion from the community: to these already allude Heb 4:4-8, the Shepherd of Hermas (Mand. 4, 3), St Justin, Athenagoras, the Didascalia, etc. It is natural that catechumens should also be instructed in this matter (cf. E. von Dobschütz, Die altchristlichen Gemeinden. Sittengeschichtliche Bilder, Leipzig 1902). There were, however, other sins easily remissible—Tertullian, De pudicitia, chaps. 1, 7 and 19: PL 2, 980, 991, 1017—he distinguishes them into maxima, media and modica—which the penal code could not make the object of catechesis except incidentally (cf. E. Vacandard, Le traitement des peccata leviora dans la primitive Église, in Revue du clergé français, 15 [1901]). In conformity with the doctrine of St Paul, the Didache requires Confession before common prayer (IX, 4): «On the Lord’s day gather yourselves together to break bread and celebrate the Eucharist, after you have confessed your failings, so that your sacrifice may be pure.» An instruction was also desired regarding the sins that were to be confessed.

According to these data one may judge what the moral instruction was like at that time: an examination, namely, of paganism, to weaken and condemn it, an appeal to history to demonstrate God’s merciful intervention for man, an evocation of evangelical memories to point out the role of Christ the Redeemer, dogmatic teaching and moral considerations to induce the embracing of the faith and Christian practices; the only means of salvation, to obtain the reward and avoid the punishments of the life to come. Such, then, were the principal points which form the thread of primitive catechesis.

III. FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE THIRD CENTURY TO THE MIDDLE OF THE FIFTH CENTURY

The doctrinal and moral teaching of the ancient catechesis was not reserved for a fixed time. When, however, towards the end of the second century, the catechumenate (v.) began to have various categories of candidates who were not all at the same stage of preparation—the one were simple applicants, others catechumens in the proper sense, others “competentes” or even neophytes—the catechist was obliged to adapt his teaching to the situation and immediate needs of his hearers. Naturally a “competens” who had already been a catechumen for years and was immediately preparing to receive Baptism had to receive different instruction from an applicant who for the first time was asking to be admitted to the catechumenate.

1. Catechesis for admission to the catechumenate

It was natural that from the very beginning, when someone for the first time presented himself to embrace Christianity, he should receive a first instruction: the principal points of the faith and Christian morality were briefly explained to him, a first renunciation of pagan vices was demanded and the promise to adhere to the obligations of the Christian life; the motives for his conversion, his profession or trade were asked, in order to be able to judge whether it was compatible with the new life he was about to begin. Such a first catechesis is preserved in the Apostolic Tradition of St Hippolytus and in the documents connected with it (cf. Ph. Oppenheim, Sacramentum regenerationis christianae, Rome 1946).

pp. 13-15). St. Ambrose (In Le. 6, 104-105: PL 15, 1696-97) offers another precious lesson: “As for the pagans,” he writes, “one must follow the example of St. Paul in the Areopagus: first, they must be taught that there is one God, who is the master of all, and that man must love Him; then idolatry must be condemned and reproved; finally, it must be shown that Jesus Christ has brought us salvation and that we must believe in Him, because the mere account of what He did on earth up to His Resurrection is an unshakable proof of His divinity.”

On the method of conducting catechesis, especially in proving, with arguments of reason, the mysteries of the faith before those who do not accept the authority of the Church, we have a model lesson preserved in the Great Catechism of St. Gregory of Nyssa (PG 45, 9 ag.; cf. J. H. Strawley, *The Catechetical Oration of Gregory of Nyssa*, Cambridge 1903). He warns the teacher to adapt to the various needs of the candidates and, placing himself in the adversary’s position, to follow him step by step in what he admits. The principal dogmas must be indicated: that of the Most Holy Trinity, of the Incarnation, of the Redemption, as well as the sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist, along with the double sanction in eternal life for the good and the wicked. The purpose of catechesis is to lead the unbelievers to faith, and therefore one must act differently depending on whether one is dealing with a pagan who denies the unity of God, a Jew who does not believe in Jesus Christ, or a heretic who errs in the Most Holy Trinity by attacking the divinity of Our Lord.

St. Augustine is even more explicit in his catechesis addressed to the deacon Deogratias of Carthage, in a double recension, one longer and one shorter, to be used according to the time available (*De catechizandis rudibus*). When dealing with an unlettered person (rudis, indoctus), before entering into the subject matter, one must ask the reasons for his coming, either from him or from those who present him. If he alleges a false motive, a lie, he should not be rebuked but praised for a sentiment already worthy of faith in itself. If he alleges a motive extraneous to the faith, gently and gravely point out to him the true purpose of Christian doctrine, so that he may willingly embrace what he previously sought to do erroneously or with pretense. If, however, he has come because of an inspiration, an event, or a fear instilled by God, this can serve as a starting point to demonstrate God’s great and swift care for us. With a rapid historical exposition, one must then show that everything God has done, He has done out of love, to lead the candidate to love God with a just conscience and a pure heart, since this is the purpose and fulfillment of the law: *“ut ille cui loqueris audiendo credat, credendo speret, sperando amet”* (*De catechizandis rudibus*, 4, 8: PL 40, 316). Then one must show God’s intervention in history from the beginning to the present through the six ages of the world, demonstrating that the Old Testament is merely the preparation and prophetic announcement of the New, and that the New is the fulfillment or revelation of the Old. This part is the *“narratio.”* As a conclusion, one must insist on the future resurrection, the final judgment, and the eternal sanction of both good and evil. The weakness of the unlettered must be warned against scandals that may come from without or within. Finally, the precepts of the Christian life must be briefly and appropriately proposed to him. If he then accepts to enter, all merit must be referred to God; he must love God and neighbor for God’s sake, since God has loved him even as an enemy and will justify him as a friend. When, instead, one is dealing with a man who already possesses some knowledge of Sacred Scripture and Christian literature, one must be very brief on these points so as not to give the impression of teaching what he already knows, merely enumerating them as if he knew everything fully; thus he will learn what he still does not know. It will not be useless to ask which particular aspects of doctrine he attributes to his desire for conversion; when known, praise them. If they are misunderstood, note that even good people can sometimes err, opposing the authority of the universal Church to the authority of some heretic or ignorant person. As for practical conclusions, one must speak as to the unlearned. When dealing finally with the learned or educated but still ignorant in matters of faith, one must especially recommend humility to prevent them from despising those who more easily avoid errors in conduct and speech. They must be instructed chiefly in the Sacred Scriptures, which, as the word of God, are not to be considered like other books from a purely human point of view. They must be urged to adhere more to the spirit than to the letter, to the soul rather than to the body, to listen more to the truth of the explanations than to the elegance of the language. As for the sacrament to be received, it is enough that he understands what it signifies; for the slower, use explanations and comparisons so that they do not despise what they see. After the theory, St. Augustine adds a model of practical catechesis, on how to act upon the mind and will of an unlettered person who wishes to become a Christian with a view to eternal life: after praising him, the catechist should immediately refer to God as the true good, who will judge and punish. True happiness, even in the trials of this life, consists in the love of God’s precepts. If one wishes to become a Christian for a self-interested or temporal motive, he will indeed be part of the Church, but like chaff in the wind. Whoever, instead, becomes a Christian for the love of eternal happiness in God is on the right path. Guarding against temptation, he is not corrupted by prosperity nor cast down by adversity: he is modest and temperate in abundance, strong and prudent in tribulation. In a summary of the history of the world, St. Augustine then shows creation, the fall, and the restoration through the Incarnation of the divine Word. The Word became incarnate also for us and has redeemed us. There are two cities on earth, in which the good are mingled with the wicked and will be manifest on the day of

2. The catechesis of the faithful

Before Christ there are five ages: everything in them is a figure of what has been accomplished in the sixth, which is the one in which we live, the one in which Jesus came, died, rose again, ascended into heaven to send us the Holy Spirit; the one in which now live all those who believe in God, practice charity, rely on rewards and fears, and currently compose the Church; the Spirit in which the Church lives amid disturbances and trials. All this we see accomplished before our eyes; and this fulfillment of the past is a pledge for future events, such as the Resurrection, the Judgment, and eternal life or condemnation.

The conclusion is: to believe firmly in these things without being disconcerted; to guard against demons and their ministers, whether pagans or Jews or even Christians; to cling with preference to the good, without placing hope in them, since hope is placed only in God; and by doing so, to persevere in faith even amid tribulations; to preserve humility, for God does not allow one to be tempted beyond one’s strength.

Notable in this model of catechesis is also the skill with which St. Augustine teaches the articles of the Creed, without saying that they are part of the formula of faith, and binds all Christian morality to it; and above all, the precise purpose that hope and charity inspire faith. Thus he does not hesitate to reserve mention of the rewards promised to the faithful and of the punishments reserved for the impious and evil Christians: an excellent means of inspiring, through fear, a beginning of love for God. Thus, in the patristic period, the catechesis of St. Augustine represents the model of a catechesis for beginners.

3. The catechesis of the catechumens

Once admitted to the rank of catechumens, the future believer had to learn Christian doctrine and practice more thoroughly. The ordinary homily, which explained the Scripture passage read in the divine office, was insufficient because of the reserve and discretion required by the discipline of the arcane (v.); in such public teaching, only general questions of faith and morals were treated, or there were simple allusions or summary hints that remained an enigma to the uninitiated. Thus supplementary instruction was needed for the catechumens. Moreover, if they read the books of the Old Testament, even the deuterocanonical ones (Origen, In Num. homil., 27, 1: PG 12, 780) or other writings such as the Didache and the Shepherd of Hermas (St. Athanasius, Epist. fest., 39: PG 26, 1437), they certainly did not understand their doctrine and scope; hence, from this side too, the need for supplementary and special teaching, which was entrusted to the *didáskaloi*, doctors or catechists, clerics or laity, priests or deacons, who had to adapt to the current needs of the catechumens and to the progress of their preparation.

This teaching was limited to a more complete and detailed explanation of what they had heard in the first catechesis, especially of Sacred Scripture. The dogmas of creation, the Fall and redemption up to the Resurrection and the General Judgment had their place, and one could emphasize the goodness and justice of God, the Incarnation of the Word of God, Redemption, and above all morality with the explanation of the various precepts of the Decalogue and the double commandment of love toward God and neighbor. The instruction was of such a nature as to provoke a firmer adherence to the spirit of faith and hope in God; it was also therapeutic, to heal souls from the madness of paganism and the attachment to sin; hence it was essential, while forming the moral will, stirring the heart to the practice of good, that is, an education. Thus preference was given to the reading of the Book of Wisdom, which offered striking examples, while the books of Tobit and Esther served to illustrate faith in God, trust in him, and moral virtues. Thus the Bible and the Gospel truly offered precious aid for education. Moreover, according to the Apostolic Constitutions (VIII, 32: PG 1, 1123) and St. Augustine, the teaching was given with greater diligence and insistence (cf. A. Gruber, Des hl. Augustin Theorie der Katechetik, Salzburg 1820, Regensburg 1870).

4. The catechesis of the competentes

When the catechumen passed to the time of immediate and proximate preparation for Baptism, he had to receive the completion of his religious instruction. The catechesis destined for him was of particular importance and was surrounded by certain solemnities. According to the Apostolic Constitutions (VII, 39: PG 1, 1040), the subject matter was creation, providence, the Trinity, the laws of the Church, the Judgment, the last things; in Jerusalem at the end of the 4th century, according to the Peregrinatio Aetheriae (46, ed. B. Geyer, Vienna 1898, p. 97), the Law, the faith, and the resurrection of the flesh.

According to St. Augustine (De fide et oper., 6, 9: PL 40, 202), the Bible and its history, the principal truths of the faith, and the moral prescriptions continued to be taught. A special place was reserved for the Creed, which formed the sacred deposit of what was to be believed: its individual articles were briefly and successively explained; it was not written down but kept in memory and in the heart. Before Baptism it was solemnly recited, and then, like the Our Father, which was also given and explained, it became for the rest of life the supreme formula of prayer. All the catecheses “in traditione Symboli” preserved, on account of the importance of this catechetical teaching, were delivered by bishops or priests specially delegated for this purpose. Thus, for example, St. Cyril in Jerusalem, St. John Chrysostom in Antioch, St. Augustine in Hippo were entrusted, before becoming bishops, with the instruction of the competentes. As to the method, nature, object, and importance of such instructions, nothing better informs us than the catecheses that St. Cyril delivered in 348, in the name of Bishop Maximus, in Jerusalem; this work consists of a pro-catechesis, or preface, of 18 catecheses addressed to the competentes during Lent, and 5 mystagogical catecheses addressed to the neophytes in the week after Easter. The method used by Cyril is that of a popular, simple and clear, lively and pressing exposition, as far as possible adapted to the intellectual or moral needs of his hearers, and consequently very practical and objective. He makes them repent of the sins they have committed, leads them to penance, and prepares them, through asceticism, for Baptism; he gives them weapons against the errors of the pagan, Jewish, or heretical environment; he prepares them to formulate precisely the dogmatic truths, supporting them with arguments drawn from reason or Sacred Scripture; finally, he explains the moving symbolism of the various preparatory practices for initiation (cf. A. Knappitsch, S. Cyrilli Hierosolymitani catechesibus quae principia moralia contineantur, Graz 1899). Not dissimilar and of great interest are the recently discovered catecheses of Theodore of Mopsuestia (v.), which date from the end of the 4th century (cf. R. Tonneau-R. Devresse, Les hom. catéchétiques de Th. de Mops. [Studi e Testi, 145], Città del Vaticano 1949).

5. The catechesis of the neophytes

Initiated into the Christian life through Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist, the neophytes remained for eight days under the direction of their teachers before being admitted to the ordinary life of Christians, and continued to receive some special instruction: in Jerusalem, the five mystagogical catecheses of St. Cyril represent this kind of instruction. St. Cyril here discourses on the ceremonies of Baptism (Catech. 19, PG 33, cols. 1065 sqq.), on the unction with exorcised oil and on Baptism (Catech. 20, cols. 1077 sqq.), on the unction with holy chrism (Catech. 21, cols. 1088 sqq.), on the Eucharist (Catech. 22, cols. 1097 sqq.), on the Eucharistic liturgy and on participation in the body and blood of Jesus Christ (Catech. 23, cols. 1109 sqq.). These mystagogical catecheses, shorter because of the Paschal feasts, do not contain everything we know from other sources.

Certainly, for the neophytes these things were not of absolute importance. The Peregrinatio Aetheriae (ed. B. Geyer, Vienna 1898, p. 99) notes, speaking of these instructions, that on this occasion the bishop explained everything that

In the early Church, the catechumenate was the period of preparation for Baptism. In the West, the same practice of providing additional instruction to the newly baptized in the days following Baptism was maintained. In Milan, for example, St Ambrose postponed the explanation of the Mysteries until after Easter, since the vivid impression produced by direct participation in the divine Mysteries seemed preferable to preparatory explanations: *"inopinantibus melius se ipsa lux Mysteriorum infuderit quam si cum sermo aliquis praecurrisset"* (De Mysteriis, I, 2: PL 16, 389). This did not, however, prevent a thorough explanation of the various rites. Indeed, the *De Mysteriis* is largely composed of instructions addressed, as in Jerusalem, to the newly baptized concerning Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist.

In Africa, and especially in Hippo, most of these explanations preceded the administration of Baptism. Nevertheless, Holy Week was reserved for instructions *"ad infantes,"* i.e., to the neophytes, both to supplement the insufficient teaching given on the Mass and Communion and, more especially, to encourage the neophytes to persevere (cf. St Augustine, *Serm.*, 260 and 353: PL 38, 1202 sg. and 39, 1560 sg.).

IV. From the end of the 5th century to St Gregory the Great. In Italy, North Africa, Spain, Gaul, parts of Germany, and the British Isles, the majority of the population had embraced the faith; thus, the ancient organization of the catechumenate lost its raison d'être, and infant Baptism became the norm. However, even for their Baptism, the traditional ceremonies of the delivery of the Creed and the Lord’s Prayer were still practiced during Lent, to which, in some places, were added those of the Gospels and the Decalogue. The triple renunciation of Satan, his pomps, and his works, and the triple profession of faith retained their place. Godparents replaced spiritual fathers and mothers. The ancient preparatory catechesis for Baptism gave way to post-baptismal instruction. Primary instruction, as a natural and just duty of natural or spiritual parenthood, fell to parents and godparents; however, for various reasons, it remained rudimentary. Therefore, parish priests supplemented it; yet, like others (parents, godparents), they had to adapt their teaching to the capacities of children and adolescents, reducing instruction to its simplest expression. Gradually, it took the form of the modern catechism (v.).

In pagan lands, in the missions of Eastern and Northern Europe, the catechumenate retained its traditional form.

In Africa, Spain, and Gaul, catechumens and competentes continued to be treated as before. Ferrandus, deacon of Carthage, concerned about the fate of a competens who had died, recounts among other practices of the catechumenate that he had received the instruction proper to his rank and the revelation of the Mysteries and Christian life (*Epist.*, I, reproduced in the reply of St Fulgentius, *Epist.*, 12, 1 and 2: PL 65, 380).

In Spain, where Arians were numerous, the Second Council of Braga in 572 prescribed the procedure to be followed during Lent regarding competentes, and the instruction concerning exorcisms and the Creed. Bishops, in their pastoral visits, were urged to exhort the faithful to abandon pagan errors and grave faults (can. V. Hardouin, *Acta Concil.*, III, pp. 351 and 386). According to St Isidore (*De officiis*, II, 21-27: PL 83, 812-24), the catechumen rejects the worship of idols and learns that there is only one God; the competens is instructed in matters concerning the Sacraments, the Creed and the rule of faith, Baptism, Confirmation, and the laying on of hands. St Ildefonsus (*De cognitione Baptismi*) first follows the method of the *curatio* and of St Augustine, then distinguishes between catechumen and competens (op. cit., 30: PL 96, 124) and cites as part of his special instruction the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist (ibid., cols. 132-42, 166-71).

In Gaul, Gennadius (*De eccles. dogmat.*, 74: PL 58, 997) informs us of what was taught to Baptismal candidates at the end of the 5th century. In the 6th century, St Avitus (d. 526) left a short poem of five books (*De Mosaicae historiae gestis libri V*: PL 59, 323-28), which recalls part of Augustine’s *narratio*, dealing with creation, original sin, God’s judgment in driving Adam from Paradise, the Flood, and the crossing of the Red Sea (two types of Baptism). St Caesarius (d. 542), a faithful echo of the bishop of Hippo, informs us of the obligations of parents regarding children (*Serm.*, 6, 6: PL 39, 1751), of godparents toward their spiritual children (*Serm.*, 168, 3: ibid., col. 2071); he enumerates the vices and superstitions of the time that must be abandoned upon becoming Christian (*Serm.*, 265, 5: ibid., col. 2239), explains the duties of competentes (*Serm.*, 267: ibid., col. 2242), and dwells on the various articles of the Creed that were the object of preparatory catechesis for Baptism (*Serm.*, 257-43: ibid., cols. 2183-84; cf. *Serm.*, 244-51, on the faith due to the Creed, on the Trinity, on Redemption, and on the Last Judgment). St Gregory of Tours (d. 543-44) cites in his *Historia Francorum*, III sg. (PL 71, 241 sg.) passages relating to the administration of Baptism during the 6th century.

To gain a complete idea of catechesis in the 5th and 6th centuries, one should examine the method of St Patrick (d. 460) among the Irish, of St Columba (d. 573) among the Picts and Scots, of St Augustine of Canterbury (d. 604) among the Anglo-Saxons, of St Gall (d. c. 627) among the Alemanni of Switzerland, and others. Unfortunately, no catechesis from that period has survived, perhaps because it was delivered by these preachers and missionaries in the vernacular. Paganism with its superstitions always had to be overcome, and although preparatory catechesis was not always sufficient, it nevertheless had to contain the truths strictly necessary to believe and the duties to be practiced by every Christian. Thus, most of the elements of apostolic and patristic catechesis are found in II. St Eligius, for example, enumerates a great number of superstitions to be abandoned (*Vita s. Eligii*, II, 15: PL 87, 524-50); the Council of Leptines (743) counts about thirty in its *Indiculus superstitionum et paganiarum* (PL 89, 810 sg.; J. Hardouin,

Thereafter comes the proclamation of the one God, creator of heaven and earth, who sends His Son to save men, with a compendium of the religious history of the world and of the economy of Redemption. The rite also includes Baptism with its exorcisms, renunciations, promises, a list of faults to be avoided and duties to be fulfilled. Finally, there is the question of the last things, the General Judgement, and the sanction of eternal rewards or punishments.

The letter with which St Gregory the Great congratulates St Augustine on the conversion of the Anglo-Saxon king Ethelbert, which took place at Canterbury on Christmas Day 597 (Epist., XI, 27: PL 77, 1139), affords a glimpse of the catechetical method of the celebrated Anglo-Saxon missionary. In 624, the letter of Boniface V to King Edwin of Northumbria, still a pagan, sets forth a programme of instruction: the vanity of idols, the importance of faith in the Creator God who sent His only Son to save mankind, the necessity of embracing the Gospel and of rebirth through Baptism—these are the main points of the treatise (Epist., 3: PL 80, 438). St Eligius, who administered Baptism each Easter to a crowd of catechumens, would then proceed to expose to the people the fables and beliefs of paganism, the practices of superstition, and speak to them of the one true God the Creator, inspiring in them the fear of the coming judgement and speaking of eternal reward. He made use of the writings of St Caesarius and St Augustine (Vita s. Eligii, II, 8 and 15: PL 87, 523 and 524-50). St Gall (d. c. 627), in a discourse delivered at Lake Constance, summarises the religious history of the world from the first sin to redemption in the Cross of Jesus, then treats of the mission of the Apostles and the vocation of the Gentiles, of the divine constitution of the Church as the ark of salvation (Sermo: PL 87, 13-26), plainly echoing the *narratio* of St Augustine.

Thus the catechesis connected with Baptism, faithful to the tradition of the early centuries, continued to teach the same principal and essential truths of the Christian religion, although gradually, on account of infant Baptism, it came to be imparted after Baptism, at a suitable and appropriate age, until what we call the catechism developed.

V. S. Gregorio Magno al Concilio di Trento. —

I. Adaptation of the Church

The ancient organisation of the Church, which gradually disappeared in Christian lands with the increasingly general practice of infant Baptism, still remained for some time in certain European missions (see above). Worthy of special note is the previous conduct of the Church, which, while preserving doctrine intact, sought to adapt itself to the capacity of the barbarians, retaining what was not contrary to the faith, but elevating it or turning it (temples, festivals, popular customs) to Christian meaning and use.

Thus in the first Benedictine mission conducted by St Augustine among the Anglo-Saxons, St Gregory the Great gave the wisest and most prudent directives for evangelisation, which influenced the very manner of catechesis: not to destroy the temples of the gods, but to bless them and consecrate them to the worship of the true God; to introduce Christian festivals in place of the pagan ones; to turn the sacrifices of animals followed by lavish feasts, no longer to the devil, but to God the giver of all good things, enjoying and partaking of them: ‘*et donatori omnium de satisitate sua gratias referant ut dum eis aliqua exterius gaudia reservantur, ad interiora gaudia consentire facilius valent, nam duris mentibus simul omnia abscidere impossibile esse non dubium est, quia et is, qui summum locum ascendere nititur, gradibus vel passibus, non autem saltibus elevatur*’ (Ven. Bede, *Hist. eccl.*, I, 30: PL 95, 70 sg.; ed. C. Plummer, I, Oxford 1896, pp. 64-66, and the commentary; II, 1876, pp. 57-61). The same method was followed by the Anglo-Saxon missionaries in the evangelisation of Germany, chiefly by their great apostle, St Boniface (672-754), who maintained Latin in the rite of Baptism but addressed the neophyte in German; he allowed the continued use of the midsummer bonfires, associating them with the feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist (24 June); and to the cult of the warrior god Wotan he substituted the cult of St Michael the Archangel, leader of the heavenly hosts. The liturgical language and the formulae of dogma remained Latin—a providential safeguard of doctrinal exactitude and of the unity of the Church—while the vernacular was reserved for catechetical and pastoral explanations. One solitary exception is recorded in the early Middle Ages: in the 9th century the missionary brothers, SS Cyril and Methodius, introduced the Slavonic ecclesiastical language in Moravia, tolerated by the popes, soon replaced by Latin, but which has remained to this day among the South Slavs (cf. G. Marckovic, *Gli Slavi e i papi*, I, Zagreb 1897, pp. 94-159). Very differently did matters proceed in the Frankish conquests, where the armies of the Franks cleared the way for the missionaries by destroying the places and houses of idolatrous worship; conquest was followed by ecclesiastical organisation and mass Baptism; later came catechesis and instruction to promote true interior conversion through the work of monks. Thus under Charlemagne, Saxony was incorporated into the Church.

6. Matter and time of catechesis

In the Middle Ages, catechetical instruction soon passed from parents and godparents to their children and godchildren, to the priests, as villages and fixed communities were formed and a stable clergy could be maintained. Catechesis everywhere comprised the same elements: in the first half of the Middle Ages, the fundamental truths of faith (the Creed) and of moral life (the Commandments, the Sacraments, the Our Father); in the second half there were added other points: sins, virtues, corporal and spiritual works of mercy, precepts of the Church, the Hail Mary. The scope and content of this medieval catechesis may be gathered from the various manuals or formulary books of catechesis which have survived, composed in different styles and methods and intended to serve as guides for priestly catechists (see CATECHISM). Particular importance attaches to the ‘formularies for confession’, because they aimed not only at awakening good dispositions for the Sacrament, but also at instructing more deeply on the different qualities and gravity of sins and inculcating the norms of a life worthy of a Christian.

Medieval catechesis was imparted especially on Sundays and feast days, both in the cathedral and in other churches, and in the schools of convents and parishes, according to the various indications and prescriptions of provincial synods; it was assisted by mural tablets on which the principal formulae (the sign of the Cross, the Creed, the Our Father, the Decalogue) were written, which the priest was to recite aloud every Sunday before and after the sermon and to explain several times a year; by illustrative pictures, which recalled the meaning of the principal truths and precepts or depicted biblical scenes, hung beside the tablets and even carried about by preachers (e.g., the *Biblia pauperum*) (see); and later by ‘mysteries’, ‘lauds’, and ‘sacred representations’. Not to mention the frescoes and paintings of churches, the bas-reliefs of doors and capitals, the mosaics, the miniatures of devotional books and bibles, which all served as so many reminders of certain facts and truths.

7. Legislation of the Church

The consciousness and wisdom of the ancient Fathers thus passed into the Middle Ages, which gave them practical expression

These examples, while on the one hand attesting to the Church’s maternal care and intelligent adherence to the diverse and changing needs of the faithful, on the other hand foreshadow and prepare the forms of modern catechesis. The Council of Cloveshow in England (747), to limit ourselves to a few, had already wisely organized parochial catechetical instruction (canons 3, 10 [Mansi, XII, cols. 396, 398]) eight hundred years before the Council of Trent; similar provisions were issued for the Carolingian Empire by the Synod of Frankfurt (794 [canon 33; Mansi, XIII, col. 908]) and, for Italy, by the Council of Cividale del Friuli (796), convoked by St. Paulinus, Patriarch of Aquileia (canons 1215: PL 99, 293-95). The same principles were inculcated and ordered by Charlemagne in several of his capitularies; indeed, he forbade anyone who did not know the Creed and the Pater to act as godparent at Baptism (cf. Fliche-Martin-Frutaz, VI, pp. 88-89).

In times closer to the Council of Trent, when—especially during the Renaissance—schools, even those run by lay teachers, had increased, it was painfully evident how religious instruction had greatly diminished. The Fifth Lateran Council, in its *Bulla de reformatione civitatis* (Session IX, 5 June 1514 [Mansi, XXXII, col. 881]), decreed that all teachers should instruct their pupils not only in humanistic subjects but also in religious matters, such as the Commandments, the Creed, sacred hymns, psalms, and the lives of the saints. On feast days, they were to teach nothing but faith and morals, employing all possible effort to ensure that pupils not only attended Mass but also Vespers, divine offices, and sermons.

As can be seen, catechesis had expanded not only in content but, so to speak, in scope, for the Council’s measure applied to all schools, including those now called secondary schools, and combined theoretical instruction with the practical exercise of religion. “The school did not ignore the Church, did not separate instruction from education, nor speculative science from its application to life; it did not disregard the Sunday precept, the Sacraments, or religious and moral conduct. Like the Church and with the Church, the school followed the pupils into life and made the teacher a father, who unceasingly took to heart the souls entrusted to him by parents, to form them as Christians” (Tamborini, op. cit., p. 15).

Almost as an application of this desired close collaboration between Church and school, the publisher Aldo Pio Manuzio, in his schoolbook *De litteris graecis et diphthongis* (Venice, 1495), printed in Latin and Greek the Pater, the *Ave Maria*, the *Salve Regina*, the Creed, and the Gospel of St. John, noting in the preface: “which we deemed it worthwhile for young students to know.” In his *Grammaticarum institutionum libri quattuor* (Venice, 1508), he prefaced the grammatical rules with the Commandments, the psalm *Introibo ad altare Dei*, and the morning and evening prayers, “since in all things one must begin with the divine,” observing in the letter addressed to teachers: “you must strive as far as possible to instruct youth in both holy morals and good letters.” In the dedications to the two volumes of Christian poets (Venice, 1501), he stated that he had published them so that children might read them instead of pagan fables: “so that young people may not grow up depraved and unfaithful, as many are today, but become upright and orthodox men, for it is of great importance to accustom them from their earliest years” (G. B. Castiglioni, op. cit., p. 204).

VI. From the Council of Trent to the Present Day.

8. New Religious Orders

The outbreak and spread of the Reformation in the 16th century, while highlighting existing deficiencies despite the Church’s warnings, also served as a stimulus for a more vibrant and profound reform. This intensified the development and adaptation of catechesis, multiplying norms, practical guidance, and the drafting of catechisms for various classes of people. This occurred even before the Council of Trent; indeed, even before the Protestant Reformation, for the religious ignorance exploited by other heretics had already been evident. Moreover, the Council itself did not serve merely as an anti-Protestant measure but rather consolidated and organized the many scattered energies already at work, driven by a widespread desire for Catholic reform (v. CATECHISTA).

The new religious orders made the teaching of catechism a special hallmark of their mission. St. Jerome Emiliani had the “orphans” debate Christian doctrine as early as 1524; indeed, he had them recite the following prayer, which echoes the Catholic Reformation in contrast to the Protestant Reformation: “Sweet Father, our Lord Jesus Christ, we pray to You through Your infinite goodness to reform Christendom to that state of holiness which existed in the time of Your apostles” (S. Santinelli, *Vita di s. Gir. Emiliani*, Venice, 1767, p. 152). He also commissioned his friend Fra Reginaldo, a Dominican, to compose a catechism. St. Ignatius and his first companions taught Christian doctrine, and the Society of Jesus, founded in 1540, became renowned for this work; its professed members make a special vow to teach doctrine to children and the simple folk. Similarly, the Barnabites, whose superior general, St. Alexander Sauli, published in Pavia in 1577 a *Brief Instruction on the Things Necessary for Salvation*; the Piarists, whose institution dates to 1597, had their *Explanation of Christian Doctrine According to the Method of the Fathers of the Pious Schools*; and later still, the Brothers of the Christian Schools, founded by St. John Baptist de la Salle in 1681, would make catechesis their principal aim, setting aside daily time in their schools for its explanation. Indeed, religious congregations dedicated

These, like that of the "Secular Priests of the Christian Doctrine," called "Doctrinarians," founded by the Venerable CESARE DE BUS in 1592 in France. At the end of the 16th century, the Florentine Blessed Ippolito Galantini (1555-1619) established the lay Congregation of the Christian Doctrine of the "Vanchetoni," so named for their modest behavior ("Van cheti").

9. The Companies of the Christian Doctrine

Castellino da Castello, a priest of the diocese of Como, in 1536 established the first company of the Christian doctrine under the title "Company of the Servants of the Little Ones in Charity" (begun with gatherings of children in the church of S. Andrea, where the wool carder Francesco Villanova taught them catechism). Similar Companies soon spread to other cities in northern Italy (Genoa, Vigevano, Verona, Piacenza, Parma, Lodi, Cremona, Varese). In Rome, in 1560, the first school of Christian Doctrine was begun in the church of S. Apollinare through the efforts of the pious layman Marco de Sadis Cusani, under the spiritual direction of the Piacentine priest Enrico Pietra, a contemporary and companion of St. Philip Neri, and of Fr. Cacciaguerra. The schools spread throughout the city, supported and promoted by Neri's followers and penitents, and elsewhere, and they too took the name "Companies of the Servants of the Little Ones in Charity." Along with the schools, the associations that attended to them multiplied. A part of the Company founded by Cusani was constituted in 1586 as a Congregation of "Secular Priests of the Christian Doctrine," called "Doctrinarians" or also "Agathists" from their church of S. Agata in Trastevere; these were later united in 1747 by Benedict XIV with the French Doctrinarians of de Bus. The other part, remaining always a confraternity, was erected in 1607 as an archconfraternity by Paul V and still exists in Rome, though harmonized and almost merged with the Diocesan Catechetical Commission of the Vicariate (Fr. Pascucci, *L'insegnamento religioso in Roma dal Concilio di Trento ad oggi*, Rome 1938).

The great good done by these schools and Companies was witnessed in Rome by St. Charles Borromeo; therefore, upon entering his diocese of Milan in 1566, he fostered and organized them: every castle or village in the diocese was to have its Company of the Christian Doctrine; every school, five classes; every Company its "officers," who would ensure the implementation of the practical norms given. His *Costituzioni et Regole della Compagnia et Scuole della Dottrina cristiana* (Milan 1585, reprinted in A. Ratti, *Acta Ecc. Mediol.*, III, ibid. 1892, pp. 149-261) are a splendid model of catechetical legislation. The fruit was so abundant that, while on his arrival in the diocese he found only 15 schools, at his death there were 740. The constitutions, augmented with new practical norms by Cardinal Federico Borromeo, were republished in 1610.

Contemporary with Borromeo's work was that of Cardinal Gabriele Paleotti, archbishop of Bologna. He too, from 1566, began to spread the same schools, giving them wise Orders, one for "the boys" and another for "the girls," containing the program of the individual classes and the manner of organizing and governing them with discipline; then an *Instruction for boys who desire to live in God and particularly for those of the Christian Doctrine*, a kind of complete etiquette manual; and finally, to ensure the execution of his orders, a *Rule to be observed by all curates* (for the 16th and part of the 17th century, cf. the well-documented work of A. Tamborini).

Meanwhile in Germany, in contrast to the Lutheran "theological" type, after the initial attempts of G. Witzel and G. Dietenberger and the proposal made by the Council of Trent (sess. IV, 5 Apr. 1546), thought turned to the compilation of a "summary theology" for educated persons, as well as to the drafting of a brief catechism containing its principal conclusions for children and the common people. Hence the various catechisms of St. Peter Canisius, of great benefit to the Catholic Church, and in Italy the two similar works of Cardinal Roberto Bellarmine.

From the above, it can be said that the 16th century, for the religious Orders, the many associations formed to promote religious instruction, and the celebrated catechisms of Canisius and Bellarmine, was the golden age of the Catholic Church; to which the Roman Catechism, composed by decree of the Council of Trent and published in 1566, gave authoritative doctrine and direction. The same can be said of the 17th century.

10. The Catechesis in the 18th Century

However, from the end of the 17th century and throughout the 18th, catechesis suffered, in turn, the influence of currents of unbelief, which were spreading and taking shape. Enlightenment, which proclaimed the autonomy of reason, rejected the supernatural, every dogma, and every religious authority, and admitted no truths that could not be proven by reason, influenced not only pedagogy but also catechesis, by minimizing the supernatural element and developing more extensively moral and rational instruction. Without departing in the least from right faith, catechesis, especially in schools and in the instruction of youth and the educated classes, took on the aspect of apologetics, in which the philosophical theses of "natural religion" precede, as *praeambula fidei*, the exposition of revealed truths: the traditional division (Creed, Commandments, Our Father, Sacraments, works of mercy, virtues) gave way to systematic exposition, explaining doctrine and sometimes proceeding by Socratic questioning, according to a logical development of theses and propositions. The author who distinguished himself most in this was Ignaz Felbiger (1724-88), reformer of schools in Silesia and Austria (cf. F. Weber, *Gesch. des Katechismus in der Diöz. Rottenburg von der Aufklärungszeit bis zur Gegenwart*, Freiburg in Br. 1939).

In the States of the Church, on the other hand, traditional catechesis remained alive, thanks to the vigilance of the Popes, the catechisms of Bellarmine prescribed there, and the work of the Archconfraternity of the Christian Doctrine in Rome. In this period there arose in Viterbo the female religious Congregation of the Pious Teachers, founded by the Venerable Rosa Venerini (1656-1728), with the principal aim of teaching catechism to girls, for which she composed suitable question-and-answer manuals, along with elementary instruction and needlework. At Montefiascone, this same Congregation took the name "Pious Teachers Filippini," from St. Lucy Filippini, a disciple of Venerini, who continued her work at the behest of Cardinal M. A. Barbarigo (q.v.).

11. Catechesis in the 19th and 20th Centuries

In the 19th-20th centuries, the revival of Catholic catechesis coincided with the restoration of the Society of Jesus (1814) and the rise of new religious Congregations dedicated to the education of youth. In Italy, particular mention should be made of the Salesians of St. John Bosco (1815-88), with their extremely popular Oratories and schools of every kind; the Josephines of the Servant of God Leonardo Murialdo (1828-1900); the Stigmatines of the Venerable Gaspare Bertoni (1777-1853); and the many female Congregations that care for girls and children.

Religious instruction, excluded from public schools in Italy due to the prevalence of secularism (cf. N. Rezzara, *Il problema scolastico nell'ora presente*, Bergamo 1913), took refuge in parishes and Catholic educational works. Three illustrious bishops in particular worked to promote them: Cardinal Alfonso Capecelatro (1824-1912), archbishop of Capua; Geremia Bonomelli (1831-1914), bishop of Cremona, author of the clear and effective catechetical manual *Il giovane studente istruito nella religione* (Brescia 1869), which went through many editions; and Giovanni B. Scalabrini (1839-1905), bishop of Piacenza, a great organizer of diocesan and parochial catechesis and of the formation of catechists, founder of

The first catechetical periodical in Italy was *Il Catechista Cattolico*, which appeared on 5 July 1876; its organizer was also responsible for the first Catechetical Congress, held in Piacenza in 1899, which drew 400 delegates from various parts of Italy. After the encyclical *Acerbo nimis* of Pius X (25 April 1905), several catechetical congresses were held: Milan (1907), Rome (1908), Lucca and Bologna (1909), and again in Milan (1910). The most significant was that of Brescia in 1912, which presented a comprehensive diocesan, parochial, and scholastic plan to compensate for the lack of religious instruction in public schools, using the formula approved by Pius X of “catechism in the form of a true school with a cyclic and intuitive method.” This served as a guide for subsequent congresses and for “Catechetical Weeks” and “Days” in various regions, especially for the clergy. The aim of the Congress was to study means of making religious instruction more effective for adults, young people, apprentice workers, girls, and children; on that occasion, a memorandum was also sent to the Ministry of Public Education requesting the restoration of religious instruction in public schools.

A first step was taken in 1923 (Royal Decree no. 2185 of 10 October), when religious instruction, considered “the foundation and crown of elementary studies,” was made compulsory in primary schools; a second step followed when such instruction was permitted in secondary schools; and the third and final step came when Article 36 of the Concordat between the Holy See and Italy (11 February 1929) sanctioned II. Courses for the training and qualification of elementary school teachers and religion teachers in secondary schools were then established; many textbooks were published for the various schools, and even lay pedagogues began to take an interest in applying the so-called “active” methods to catechesis, especially in schools.

Religious instruction, at least in its official form, remains excluded from our universities since the chairs of theology were suppressed by the law of 26 January 1873, no. 1251, Article 1; nor have the times yet been ripe for their reconstitution (cf. R. Lombardi, *Filosofia e teologia nelle università regie*, in *Civiltà Cattolica*, 1942, I, pp. 188–200, and the *Convegno nazionale di studi filosofici. Relazioni*, Rome 1941). However, after the experience of two world wars, which laid bare in all its starkness the true sickness of society—its loss of anchorage in God—efforts have been made to remedy this through the establishment of “theological studies for laypeople,” with programmes and subject divisions suited to true university teaching. Initiated in Florence in 1945, they soon spread to Padua, Naples, Perugia, Messina, Assisi, Viterbo, Albano, and Potenza, and are supported by the journal *Città di vita*, which appeared in 1946 and serves as the official organ for the various centres (cf. R. Sciamannini, *Gli studi teologici per i laici*, in *Ecclesia*, 8 [1949], pp. 488–90).

This movement for educated laypeople had been anticipated as early as 1918 by the work of the Jesuit Fr Agostino Garagnani, linked to the Gregorian University; it began with an isolated chair of apologetics but by the following year, 1919, had developed into a true institute of higher religious culture, with systematic courses for young university students, study circles, and a circulating apologetic library. In 1927–28, the courses were made available to the organization of Catholic Action (cf. R. Lombardi, *Una opera e un uomo: il p. Garagnani*, in *Civiltà Cattolica*, 1944, III, pp. 202–13). Since 1940, the *Pro Civitate Christiana* has held an annual course of Christian studies in Assisi, following the articles of the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed as its outline; these courses are growing ever more important and of greater interest, both because of the authority of the lecturers and the attendance of participants (cf. the volumes published under the title *Il Simbolo*, Assisi 1940 ff.; and *La Rocca*, a fortnightly of Christological information, published there since 1942). From the same *Pro Civitate Christiana* came, a few years ago, the appeal for the foundation of *Domus Christianae*, periodic gatherings in private homes where, under the guidance of a priest, religious questions are discussed and debated. Alongside other similar advanced courses in religion, usually attached to cultural institutes, mention should also be made of religious conferences in secular settings (universities, theatres, public halls, etc.), whose attendance and success attest to how alive is the modern interest in religious topics.

VII. CATECHESIS IN THE CHURCH’S PRESENT-DAY LEGISLATION

The *Codex Iuris Canonici* devotes an entire chapter to catechetical instruction (cc. 1329–36) and firmly establishes that “it is a proper and most grave duty, especially of pastors of souls, to care for the religious instruction of the Christian people” (c. 1329). The following canons specify the obligations of parish priests in detail: towards children as preparation for confession and communion; towards young people in subsequent years, for whom a more extensive instruction must be organized; and towards adults, to whom the catechism must be explained every Sunday and holy day of obligation. The parish priest may enlist the help of other ecclesiastics and religious, who are bound to assist, and especially of lay members of the Christian Doctrine sodality. Moreover, parents or guardians, fathers, and employers must ensure that those under their care receive a sound religious education. To the canons already cited, others must be added, e.g. c. 711 §2 (confraternity of Christian Doctrine in every parish), cc. 509 §2, 565 §2, 1366, 1373 (concerning religious instruction in religious institutes, seminaries, and schools); c. 1020 (concerning a possible examination in catechism before marriage); c. 2182 (concerning penal provisions).

All the catechetical legislation of the *CIC* includes various decisions previously issued (e.g., Council of Trent, Session XXIV, *De Reformatione*, chs. 4 and 7; Benedict XIV, encyclical *Etsi minime*, 7 February 1742; Pius IX, encyclical *Nostis et Nobiscum*, 8 December 1849; Leo XIII, letter *In mezzo*, 26 June 1878; and especially Pius X, encyclical *Acerbo nimis*, 15 April 1905—the “magna carta” of the modern catechetical movement; encyclical *Edita saepe*, 26 May 1910). Pius XI, for his part, wished to provide more specific norms in response to the pressing needs of the times: with the *motu proprio* *Orbem catholicum* (29 June 1923), he established at the Sacred Congregation of the Council an Office of Catechetics to regulate catechetical works throughout the Church; with the decree *Provido sane consilio* of the Sacred Congregation of the Council (12 January 1935), he determined in particular the organization of diocesan and parochial catechetical works in the form of a true school and the obligation of bishops to report on them every five years to the same Sacred Congregation, according to a questionnaire of 24 points. Even earlier, with a brief of 26 April 1932, he had proclaimed SS. Charles Borromeo and Robert Bellarmine patrons of all works of religious instruction throughout the world (cf. for these and other numerous documents: G. Luzi, *La legislazione catechistica di Pio XI*, Rome 1941).

VIII. CATECHESIS IN THE MISSIONS

From the Middle Ages until the discoveries of the great navigators and after them, Christian princes considered themselves obliged to bring Christianity to newly conquered lands (and believed themselves invested with the authority to impose it even by force) through mass baptisms; hence the catechesis of missionaries came later (cf. A. Vätth, *Das Bild der Weltkirche*, Hanover 1932, p. 30).

The first work of evangelization by St. Francis Xavier in the Portuguese Indies took place, in fact, in the so-called *paravi* of the Fishery Coast, Christians only in name. Having just arrived in Goa in 1542, the Saint began (Epist., 15, nos. 12–15) to teach the prayers, the Creed, and the Commandments to children in Portuguese; then, translated into Tamil, to the populations already baptized but without any instruction on the Fishery Coast and at Tuticorin; subsequently in Malacca, in Malay; and finally in Japan, in Japanese.

The method of his catechesis was very simple, and he himself explains it in an instruction for catechists (Epist., 53). The first part of the lesson consisted in the recitation of common prayers, sometimes in a dialogical form, so that the catechist, with his question, elicited as an answer an article of the Creed, or a clause of the prayer, or one of the Commandments. This was followed by the variable part, namely the explanation of some of the truths of faith and other necessary knowledge. It concluded with a prayer. The Saint (Epist., 59, no. 3) also employed the singing of children and of various social classes, both to replace profane songs and to facilitate the memorization of the catechism responses (cf. G. Schurhammer and J. Wicki, *Epist. s. Francisci Xaverii aliaque eius scripta* [Monumenta Histor. S. I., 67–68], 2 vols., Rome 1944–45, especially pp. 93–105; and for the catechesis in Tamil, Malay, and Japanese: II, pp. 581–99).

In India, a land of millennial civilization, of subtle philosophical-religious speculations, and of rigid caste separation, catechesis required very special methods to win over the Brahmins and the higher castes, who had always opposed an impenetrable wall to evangelization, even that of St. Francis Xavier himself, who complained of this and achieved his conversions among the lower castes. The Jesuit Fr. Roberto de Nobili (1577–1656) initiated this approach by adapting to their mentality and customs, with a perfect knowledge of their spoken language and of Sanskrit (the language of their sacred books), and by avoiding direct polemics. He began by declaring the concept of God and creation from nothing; then, by positively expounding the truth, he dispelled the fundamental errors of Hinduism: theopanism, a kind of idealistic pantheistic emanationism, and the transmigration of souls; and then proceeded step by step to the expositions of dogma and Christian morality. In this way, he succeeded in converting a large number of Brahmins (cf. P. Dahmen, *Un féruite brahme, R. de Nobili*, Bruges 1925). In a similar manner, except for the adaptation of customs, which is no longer necessary, the same method is still followed today in the catechesis of high-caste Hindus, although conversions remain few (cf. M. Barbera, *L'incantesimo dell'induismo*, Brescia 1939).

In modern missions, catechesis is embodied in the entire complex of evangelization methods, which vary according to the level of civilization of the different peoples. It suffices here to note that among peoples of ancient civilization (India, China, Japan), for the educated classes, doctrinal exposition is preceded by instruction in the moral and religious truths of a rational order to dispel the prejudices inherent in their respective religions, while preserving what is in conformity with reason. This is generally done in schools opened by missionaries for all, in conferences, etc. Among barbarian peoples, on the other hand, one begins by humanizing them (as the Jesuits did in the famous Paraguay Reductions) through works of charity; then one proceeds to catechesis in the catechumenates, and Baptism is not given until they are sufficiently accustomed to Christian customs (cf. J. Schmidlin, *Missionslehre im Grundriss*, 2nd ed., Münster in V. 1923, pp. 359–72, 421–22).

IX. CATECHESIS IN CHRISTIAN ARCHAEOLOGY

Catechesis, generally entrusted to priests, sometimes also to laypeople or widows, is often depicted in early Christian art and especially in sculpture. A magnificent example is the Lateran sarcophagus, discovered in 1881 near the tomb of Licinius Peto on the Via Salaria Nuova, dating from the late 2nd to early 3rd century. On one side, a bearded teacher in a philosophical pallium is shown surrounded by standing figures: he is seated and looks toward an open volume he holds with both hands. Similar depictions appear in other sarcophagi where catechumens are shown either as orants (sarcophagus of Santa Maria Antiqua) or in the act of listening (sarcophagus in the Museo Civico of Ravenna).

Wilpert interpreted the scene of catechesis given in a carriage by the deacon Philip to the minister of the Queen of Ethiopia as a series of reliefs from the early 4th century depicting two men on a *carpentum*, such as in a relief in the Museo Nazionale Romano (Inv. 8492). However, such sculptures seem rather to represent scenes of the last journey, a motif dear to Etruscan and Roman artists. The catechesis of St. Philip appears for the first time in the 11th century in the *Menologion* of Basil II. — See Plate LXII.