Leo XIV, to the catechists of Latin America: be they “transparency” of the living presence of Christ

On the occasion of the XIII Ordinary Assembly and the X Study Days of the Society of Catequetas of Latin America and the Caribbean (Scala), which are held from July 7 to 11 in Asunción (Paraguay), Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram of breath to the participants, in which he invited them to be “transparency” of the “viva presence” of Christ.

“The Holy Father encourages them to renew, from this love knowledge of Christ, the desire to announce it, to evangelize and bring others to the ‘yes’ of faith in him, being transparency of his living presence,” reads himself in the message, signed as usual in these cases by the Secretary of State of the Vatican, Cardinal Pietro Parolin.

On the telegram, addressed to the president of Scala, Fr. Mario Segura Bonilla, the Pontiff also invited them to continue focusing their reflection on the person of Jesus of Nazareth, “center and end of catechesis” and urged them to renew the desire to announce it with joy.

The Holy Father praised that these days of encounter – also promoted by the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (Celam) – “have the main objective of reflecting on the person of Jesus of Nazareth.”

Finally, he invoked the intercession of the Virgin Mary, mother of good advice, and taught the apostolic blessing as a garment of abundant heavenly gifts.

According to their organizers, the Scala days not only offer academic training, but also create spaces for ecclesial exchange, reinforcing the ties between catechists at the service of evangelization in Latin America.

This event is part of the catechesis renovation process in Paraguay started in 2015, aimed at updating the Christian initiation itineraries in the light of the Aparecida document, the directory for catechesis (2020), the apostolic exhortation Gospel joy, the teaching of Pope Francis and the synodal road that the Catholic Church lives today.