Catechetical Program

The historic event of the Second Vatican Council and the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church thirty years later by Pope John Paul II are the two foundational blocks upon which the catechetical program at Magdalen College is built. 

The Fathers of Vatican Council II desired a deep-seated renewal of Christian living: they are called for a conversion of mind and heart. Pope John Paul II repeated the Conciliar call for an interior renewal when he published the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  Hence, both the documents of Vatican Council II and the Catechism are the evangelical instruments by which Holy Mother Church helps contemporary Catholics to re-establish within themselves a concrete life of relationships—with God, with their neighbor, and with themselves. 

The catechetical program at Magdalen College participates in the evangelical mission of Mother Church by reminding the students of their Christian identity, by forming them in the baptismal vocation and apostolate, and by preparing them for the realities of daily living as a Catholic layman.

The documents of Vatican Council II, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the Code of Canon Law, and the “General Norms for Catholic Colleges and Universities” (Ex corde ecclesiae) are the primary reference materials for the catechetical program.  The “General Catechetical Directory” guides the program.  Finally, the catechetical tutorials present certain sequences of readings, which include the Gospels and the dogmatic, moral, and social teachings of the Catholic Church.

The catechetical program at Magdalen College prepares a young person to live—as a Catholic adult—his or her baptismal vocation and apostolate to the full.  As an educated catechist, he or she is prepared to transmit the essential truths of the Catholic Faith.

Magdalen College is empowered by a 1983 Vatican Rescript to confer upon a qualified candidate the Apostolic Catechetical Diploma.  Upon earning a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Magdalen College, a student may be awarded the Apostolic Catechetical Diploma which certifies him or her as en educated catechist.