Catholic catechesis

The role of a Catholic catechist is to catechize (teach; variant spelling is catechise) the faith of the Catholic Church by both word and example. The Directory for Catechesis states that faith must be "known, celebrated, lived, and turned into prayer" in a personal and total encounter of the heart, mind and senses with Christ. St. John Paul II describes the aim of catechesis as putting "people not only in touch but in communion, in intimacy, with Jesus Christ."

The Directory for Catechesis describes the catechist as "a Christian who receives a particular calling from God that, when accepted in faith, empowers him for the service of transmission of the faith and for the task of initiating others into the Christian life."