Eighteen months after the Office of Faith Formation’s online catechist certification program launched in English, the course is now available in Spanish.
Jeff Hines, director of the Office of Faith Formation, said one of his office’s main jobs is to “form” catechists.
“Form means train,” he said. “And that word ‘form’ comes from St. Paul saying, ‘I’ll work with you until Christ is formed in you.’ So it’s not that we are forming people, but Christ is formed in us.”
Hines said his office helps catechists in schools and parishes do their work. Creating an online catechist certification program with only Arkansas instructors was the natural next step.
The program pulls from Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and other texts and sources, with presentations by clergy, sisters and laypeople. The programs can be found at Learn.DOLR.org.
“The online catechist certification in English has been available since February of 2023,” Hines said. “We decided to do the English course first, as a proof of concept, then follow up with the Spanish version. Development of the Spanish course started over a year ago.”
Hines said since the program’s English release, participants such as Father William Burmester, pastor of St. Edward Church in Texarkana, Sacred Heart Church in Foreman and St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Ashdown, and Bishop Anthony B. Taylor returned to record their talks for the Spanish course.
“In the Faith Formation Office, everything we do is offered in both English and Spanish,” Hines said. “It took us longer to do (the catechist certification program) in Spanish, because we needed to develop the platform and find out if online learning was really going to work. We did the proof-of-concept in English. It has been successful. Every month, I got requests for us to offer it in Spanish.”
Like the English version, the Spanish program is a series of 20 video lessons with two or three discussion questions. To obtain certification, the program must be completed with a group of two or more people. All Catholic school teachers, directors of religious education, catechists, RCIA coordinators and team members, parish employees, Bible study leaders, campus ministers and youth ministers are encouraged to enroll.
As of July 23, 490 people have completed the English catechist certification course, with another 530 people currently taking the course. More than 1,200 people have registered on Learn.DOLR.org.
With the Spanish program available since Aug. 1, Hines said catechists will recognize the amount of talent and qualifications of teachers throughout the diocese. Speakers include Father Jason Tyler, who has a degree in moral theology from the Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum in Rome; and Alma Garcia, director of religious education at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Magnolia. Some instructors’ talks are delivered in English with subtitles.
“We could have subscribed to one of a number of good catechist certification programs out there, but we wanted to model teaching ourselves because Jesus said that it’s better if I go and you teach, so go make disciples baptizing and teaching,” Hines said. “Well, we can’t just turn it over to somebody else. We actually have to do it. And so we thought, when we do this course, we have to model it ourselves that we are going to teach. And that’s exactly the point — ‘Oh, I didn’t know that we had these people … in our diocese. I didn’t know I had these people in my own parish.’”
A team of volunteers worked with the Faith Formation Office to make the Spanish version of the catechist certification program possible.
Gretel Smith, RCIA director at St. Jude the Apostle Church in Jacksonville, helped the Faith Formation Office by having students test the English program when it first came out.
“I was excited to see the announcement about the certification last year. As the RCIA (OCIA) coordinator for St Jude’s as well as working with our adult faith formation team, I coordinated a group to complete the certification course,” she said. “This group … of adults met on Thursday mornings. We chose to start with Mass, enjoy a potluck breakfast and then view the videos together and discuss the questions. This initial group has grown, and we have continued our Thursday morning formation so we can better serve others in our parish and community.”
Garcia, one of the presenters, said she recognized the need for a Spanish-language version shortly after the English program was unveiled.
“One of the things that made me think of the need for a Spanish Catechist Formation Program is the fact of seeing new people coming to our parishes from Latin America willing to serve as teachers for those kids not being able yet to speak English fluently,” Garcia said. “I have to mention that a good number of these adults have some formation already; it is just a matter of them getting to know our culture and immersing them into our U.S. Catholic Church.”
Garcia said she is excited to show the Spanish program to her parish community.
“My hope is that this opportunity will bring our diocese closer to each other and help the (directors of religious education) and formation leaders in all our parishes to have a stronger faith and full participation in the life of Christ reflected in service,” she said. “And having more individuals to be willing to learn about our Church. This program will also help the Hispanics of our diocese to feel welcome and affirm their talents as well as become stronger leaders in their local communities.”
Paola Ricaurte, administrative assistant for the Minister to Deacons, completed the program in Spanish as a tester before it was launched.
“This is a great tool for anyone who teaches the Catholic faith, from Catholic leaders in a ministry to parents and to anyone who is inspired to share the faith with others,” she said.
Ricaurte is particularly excited to watch the faith continue to growing in the Hispanic community.
“Within my role at the diocese, I often witness the drive and the passion that the Hispanic community has in spreading the Catholic faith,” she said. “By being available in both languages, it will give them the tools and the knowledge to better help their community.”
Several other courses available at Learn.DOLR.org include the Gospel of Mark, Dead Sea Scrolls, the Mystery of the Eucharist and a Life and Human Dignity. Hines said he plans to expand learning opportunities on the site.
