“We had a long tradition in religious education in schools, and catechetical courses in the parishes basically revolved around preparation for the Sacraments, First Communion and Confirmation. Some parishes offered more advanced catechetical courses, but the efforts were focussed on religious education in public schools: religion teachers were trained, appointed and commissioned with a missio canonica by the archbishop and assigned to the different schools”. This was explained to SIR by Patrick de Rond, diocesan director for catechesis, as he outlined the new situation that has come into being in Luxembourg: as from this academic year, 2017/2018, the Grand Duchy has removed the option to attend religious education in schools, leaving just one “course on values”, focussed on cohabitation issues; religions will also be presented “equally”, but “we shall see how it works out”. So, a “second revolution” is under way in the Church of Luxembourg these weeks. After the parish reorganisation enforced last May, which redesigned the region, turning the over 280 existing parishes into 33 communities, now it’s the turn of catechesis.

 

As from the just-started academic year, it will be the parishes that will take care of the children’s catechetical process, a role that so far had been played by public schools. Now, parishes will have “to take Christian education in their hands by providing catechetical courses”. The “challenge” has been taken up by the dioceses, and a catechetical programme has been worked out: it is called “Living faith, growing in faith” and it will be targeted to three different age groups. It is “a major change in terms of organisation”, because of the new geographical reorganisation of the parishes but above all because of the need to find people who want to take such responsibility and provide educational programmes about faith.