Welcoming children in Worship
Project overview
Welcoming Children in Worship invites children, parents, catechists, liturgists and teachers to nurture children’s worship and prayer as it unfolds in the Catholic liturgical year of liturgical seasons and feasts through liturgical catechesis, music, art and educational activities for children aged 4 -10 years old.
The resources shared here aim to help visitors form in-person, face to face communities of shared worship, reflection, and prayer with children to support their full, conscious and active participation in the Eucharist, the “source and summit of the Christian life.”
Here you will find liturgical formation resources for children and their families unfolding over the church’s liturgical seasons across three areas
Liturgical catechesis
on the meaning of
liturgical signs
words
and gestures of worship
Liturgical music
for worship and prayer
Sacred art
and educational activities
to prepare the soil of a
child’s heart and mind for
worship of God.
We invite all those privileged with the task of forming children for worship and prayer – parents and families, catechists, liturgists, teachers and pastors – to join in this virtual community. Our hope is that these resources will lead you and the children in your care from the table of shared prayer and reflection in the home, parish, or Catholic school to the sacred table of the Eucharist, the Church’s public prayer in worship of God.
Here you will find a resource to guide children’s understanding of the liturgical signs and seasons of worship in the Catholic liturgical calendar, a liturgical season guide for Hispanic children and families, and adaptive resources for families and children with disabilities.
This liturgical formation initiative at the Catholic University of America, the national university of the Bishops of the United States of America, coincides with the National Eucharistic Revival, a three-year (2022 – 2025) national grassroots initiative of the Catholic bishops of the United States to rekindle in worshipping communities a living relationship with Jesus Christ through renewed participation in the Eucharist at the diocesan, parish, and individual levels.
key collaborators
Key collaborators are faculty experts from across the university – the School of Theology and Religious Studies; and the Rome School of Music, Drama, and Art, together with bishops, pastors, and experts in Catholic theology and pastoral ministry, known nationally and internationally. The Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA) continues their planning phase collaboration for project research and assessment. And a group of talented and creative experts in media support the project’s digital presence.
Consultants
Rev. Phillip Ganir, SJ
Music Consultant, Boston College School of Theology and Ministry
Patty Mazariegos
Consultant
Anne Heekin-Canedy
Consultant
Will Deatherage
Catholics for Hire, LLC
Charleen Katra
Executive Director, National Catholic Partnership on Disability
Special Guests
Sir James MacMillan
Internationally renowned Catholic composer and conductor of classical and sacred music. Founder of the Cumnock Tryst Music Festival, Scotland.
We are grateful to Lilly Endowment Inc. for their generosity that makes this initiative possible.
And we thank all collaborators who contribute to the spiritual and liturgical formation needs of children for their full, conscious and active participation in worship in parishes and dioceses of the Catholic Church in the United States of America.
Our Patron Saints
Our Lady of Guadalupe
St. Juan Diego
St. Anthony of Padua
St. Thomas Aquinas
St. Don Bosco
St. Pius X
Blessed Carlo Acutis
LILLY ENDOWMENT, INC
Nurturing Children through Worship and Prayer Initiative
In 2022 Lilly Endowment Inc. launched the Nurturing Children through Worship and Prayer Initiative as part of its commitment to support efforts that strengthen the religious education and formation of children and enhance the vitality of Christian congregations. The Catholic University of America is honored to be one of 26 organizations taking part in this significant initiative to nurture children’s participation in the Eucharist. We are grateful to the Lilly Endowment Inc. for their vision to strengthen participation of children in worship and prayer, and their generous support of this initiative at The Catholic University of America led by the School of Theology and Religious Studies.
