Saskatoon Conference Marks Major Step in the Development of Catechesis in Canada

More than 50 catechists from across Canada met in Saskatoon from Sept. 4 to 6 for the first Canadian Catechist Conference. During the event, Bishop Michael Smolinski of the Eparchy of Saskatoon announced the establishment of the first Ukrainian Catholic Catechetical School in Canada, which will be based at the Cathedral of St. George.

The gathering grew from the National Catechists Group, an initiative of the Patriarchal Commission in Canada. For the past year, this group has held monthly online sessions to help catechists exchange ideas and build relationships.

Attendees included Bishop Michael Kwiatkowski of New Westminster, who serves as Head of the Patriarchal Catechetical Commission, and Bishop David Motiuk of Edmonton. Nazar Duda, the Director of the Catechetical-Pedagogical Institute of the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv and Deputy Head of the Patriarchal Catechetical Commission, also participated.