HICKORY — The 2024 Diocesan Catechetical Conference Nov. 16 at the Hickory Metro Convention Center featured 21 sessions in both English and Spanish centered on a theme taken from John 15:4: “Remain in Me and bear much fruit.”
The event brought together catechists that included clergy, faith formation teachers, coordinators of apostolic groups, ministry leaders and parents. The annual diocesan event is open to anyone who teaches or speaks about the faith.
Christopher Beal, diocesan director of Catechetical Formation, said 489 attendees from 50 parishes were on hand for the day-long event. The largest groups were from Our Lady of Guadalupe in Charlotte with 49 attendees, St. Mary in Greensboro with 37, and Holy Cross in Kernersville with 31.
Conference topics covered everything from organizing catechetical events to gender ideology and Christian anthropology, sacred music, marketing, the use of artificial intelligence in catechetical work, and spiritual and educational formation. Publishers and vendors were on hand with educational materials and religious items.
Eduardo Benítez, a catechist from Divine Redeemer Parish, said he was impressed by the content of the session “How We Help Young People Understand Their Identity Only in Christ.”
“We must first care for our salvation,” he said. “We need to be our own influencers and know the Bible to speak the Word of God. And for better catechesis, we must always build a relationship with the students and accompany them in their relationship with God.”
Divine Redeemer participants attended all the sessions, both in English and Spanish, and planned on sharing their combined insights in a future podcast.
Looking ahead, Beal announced that the 2025 Catechetical Conference will be Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, with the venue to be determined at a later date.
— Sergio López