Catechesis of the Good Shepherd

Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) is a program established in Italy in 1954 by Scripture scholar Sophia Cavalletti, along with her Montessori collaborator Gianna Gobbi. The image central to CGS is the parable of the Good Shepherd who knows the child by name, and calls each one to himself out of a love so profound that he lays down his life for us.

The place where this formation takes place is called the atrium. The atrium is a place where the child is guided in a personal relationship with Jesus through engaging presentations and tactile materials which express Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, the life of the church, and the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus is the true teacher in the atrium, while the catechist serves as the guide.

At OLMC, students in Pre-K through 5th Grade visit our Level 1 or Level 2 atriums once a week to contemplate Jesus and share in His mysteries. Through prayer, presentations, songs, celebrations, and hands-on prayer work, the children come to know the truth of Jesus.

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