Spanish bishops urge catechists not to grow tired of sowing

As the new pastoral year begins, the Spanish Bishops' Conference has launched a campaign aimed at catechists in parishes and schools across Spain. The campaign marks the recent Jubilee of Catechists, held in Rome from September 26 to 28, 2025, and Pope Leo's apostolic visit to Spain. It includes a letter from Bishop José Rico Pavés, president of the bishops' Commission for Evangelization, Catechesis and the Catechumenate, addressed to everyone doing this work in Spanish dioceses.

Rico Pavés writes that being a catechist means more than teaching lessons: it means welcoming children, young people and adults and accompanying them in a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. He notes that the word catechist comes from the Greek katechein, meaning "to instruct by word of mouth, to make resound." "Thank you for making the beauty of the Gospel resound in every corner of our dioceses," he writes.

Faith in the face of indifference and discouragement

The bishop warns of the temptations of discouragement, weariness and feeling overwhelmed in the face of the indifference of society today. Citing Pope Leo's homily at the closing Mass of the Jubilee in St. Peter's Square, Rico Pavés asks catechists not to fall into a faith dulled by opulence or individualism. The pope said that "the many Lazaruses of today become for us an even more effective catechesis," warning about a faith that does not translate into commitment to the poor.

Against that background, Rico Pavés tells catechists: "do not grow tired of sowing." Even when the fruit is slow to come, he writes, the Word of God never returns empty (cf. Is 55:10-11). "Your mission is to bring hope to a world thirsting for truth, showing that following Christ fills life with meaning," he says in the letter.

Catechesis as an act of the Church

One of the campaign's central points is that no catechist works alone. Rico Pavés writes that catechesis is by its nature a deeply ecclesial act, and he urges catechists to live it in full communion. That means working in communion with bishops and priests in discerning diocesan and parish pastoral work. It means cultivating mutual support, shared formation and prayer within catechetical teams, since "the first catechesis we offer is the love and unity among ourselves." And it means supporting families as the first educators in the faith, building bridges between life at home and the life of the Christian community.

The bishop writes that catechesis is a ministry "entrusted by the Church for the building up of the Body of Christ," in keeping with synodality: communion, participation and mission.

Resources for the new year

The 2026 campaign offers dioceses audiovisual materials and practical resources. They include two videos. In one, a mother writes a letter of thanks to her children's catechist, describing how the work of evangelization reaches not only the children but their parents and the wider family. The other deals with a growing situation in parishes: children who ask for the Eucharist or Confirmation without having been baptized.

The commission has produced a new guide to the catechism Jesús es el Señor (Jesus is the Lord) to help catechists care for these children and their families. It also proposes that dioceses and parishes hold commissioning celebrations at the start of the year, in which the community prays for its catechists, and has provided a document setting out the rite.

Support and blessing from pastors

Rico Pavés closes his letter by addressing catechists directly: "May the Most Holy Virgin Mary, the first believer and teacher of the faith, accompany you in every catechesis session, in every meeting and in every gesture of welcome throughout this year." He tells them they can count on the prayer, affection and blessing of their pastors in their mission.