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Tuesday, January 06, 2009

“Anyone who has discovered Christ must lead others to him. A great joy cannot be kept to oneself. It has to be passed on.”

Pope Benedict XVI, Homily at the World Youth Day 2005 closing mass

Totus Tuus in the News!

Read the Catholic New World article...

What is Totus Tuus?

Totus Tuus is a Catholic youth program dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith through catechesis, evangelization, Christian witness, and Eucharistic worship. The goal of Totus Tuus is to help young people grow in their understanding of, and strengthen their faith in, Jesus Christ. It is only by establishing a real and personal relationship with Him that we can be led to the love of the Father in the Spirit and so be made sharers in the life of the Holy Trinity. "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me" (John 4:16). Totus Tuus strives to strike a balance between the knowledge of the meaning of the Sacraments and sacramental practices, thus bringing our faith alive.

Totus Tuus seeks to foster openness to vocations in the young people we serve as well as among the teachers. This is accomplished by placing special emphasis on the importance and necessity of prayer, Eucharistic devotion, and Marian devotion, in addition to catechetical instruction and formation in the Catholic faith.

History

Totus Tuus began in 1987 as a vacation Bible school program under the inspiration of Fr. Bernard Gorges, when he was a first-year seminarian for the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas. By 1993, the program now known formally as Totus Tuus had spread to include service to parishes in the Diocese of Dodge City, Kansas. The summer of 2000 program included 69 sites served by Totus Tuus. Of this number, there were 23 sites (41 parishes) in the Diocese of Wichita, 10 sites (12 parishes) in the Diocese of Dodge City and 4 parishes in the Diocese of Salina, 7 sites (10 parishes) in the Archdiocese of Kansas City and 25 sites outside of the state of Kansas (Nebraska, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Georgia). In 2007, Totus Tuus of Chicago began its pilot summer with two teams serving 10 parishes in the Archdiocese of Chicago and the Diocese of Joliet.

Totus Tuus Inspires Vocations

Much of the success of Totus Tuus is due to the college-age teachers whose zeal for Christ and His Church inspire young people to lives of radical holiness. Furthermore, teachers of Totus Tuus often discover their own vocation as they too are inspired to lives of deeper devotion. Historically, approximately 12% of Totus Tuus team members pursue formation in the priesthood or religious life.