AEC initiatives for catechists, missionaries

The Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) have outlined four key points of action for the Church in the Caribbean, with a renewed emphasis on catechetical formation and missionary outreach. These efforts aim to deepen the faith of the people and foster a spirit of evangelisation throughout the region.

To strengthen formation across the Antilles Episcopal Conference (AEC), the PMS team, under AEC President Archbishop Charles Jason Gordon, organised three online teachings for catechists. Sessions took place on Thursday, September 11 and 18. The final session is September 25 at 7 p.m. Eastern Caribbean Time (8 p.m. French Guiana and Suriname; 6 p.m. Jamaica; 5 p.m. Belize), according to a PMS article.

Speakers were AEC Vice President Bishop John Persaud; George Alayon, Area Leader for Couples for Christ and Family (CFC) Ministries Bermuda; and Bernadette Gopaul-Ramkhalawan, Vicariate Catechetical Coordinator for South and Central, Archdiocese of Port of Spain.

From September 28–30, PMS Directors from across the AEC will gather in Suriname for a formation meeting focused on deepening understanding of key Church documents and the Synod on Synodality. The session will place particular focus on “mission and evangelisation”.

An important part of the meeting will be planning strategies to promote Missionary Childhood programmes. These efforts aim at “nurturing in children and youth a personal relationship with Christ and a missionary spirit.”

Looking ahead, the Church in the Caribbean will celebrate Mission Month 2025 under the theme: Missionaries of hope among the nations.

Each diocese is invited to “prepare a message encouraging clergy, religious, and faithful to embrace this theme and to contribute generously to the Mission Sunday Collection, which showed an increase last year.”

In preparation, four online study sessions open to all will be hosted on Thursdays—October 9, 16, 23, and 30—providing an opportunity for deeper reflection and engagement.

Earlier this year, clergy from the Dioceses of Mandeville and Montego Bay in Jamaica took part in a ‘Workshop on Evangelisation and Missionary Parishes,’ organised by PMS. These workshops focused on helping parishes become vibrant centres of mission. Similar sessions “can be offered in other AEC dioceses next year.”

Together, these initiatives reflect a growing commitment to building a missionary Church in the Caribbean. As the PMS affirms: “Together, these initiatives reflect our shared call to live as true missionaries of hope in the Caribbean.”