Totus Tuus
WHAT IS TOTUS TUUS?
Totus Tuus is a summer catechetical program with an emphasis on vocations. The phrase "totus tuus" means "I am all yours" and was the Marian motto of Pope Saint John Paul II.
Totus Tuus was started in 1987 in rural Kansas where many youth in rural parishes were getting no CCD in the summer. A seminarian, (now priest) named Bernie Jorges was asked to go and teach them in the summer. What started as one man's generous work soon grew into a large task and he had to hire college students to help him teach the kids. Eventually, it became a formal program called Totus Tuus. It has spread from the Diocese of Wichita and is now present in many dioceses throughout the United States.
Registration open now. Click the button to download the form.
How does it work?
The Totus Tuus team (consisting of four Catholic college students, two men and two women) spend a week in a parish teaching the youth. They arrive on a Saturday and speak at all the Masses promoting Totus Tuus. They would teach all age groups (from 1st grade to 12th grade) starting Sunday night and going until Friday morning. The ideal time range would be 9am-3pm for 1st-6th grade youth and 6:30pm-8:45pm for 7th-12th grade youth with flexibility to fit each parish's needs.
How is Totus Tuus different from Vacation Bible School?
- Totus Tuus is similar to Vacation Bible School in that both are summer day camp programs for children that teach the Faith. However, there are several differences. Totus Tuus is taught by a team of four college students who spend a summer traveling around the diocese.
- Totus Tuus has a Grade School program during the day and a Junior/Senior High program in the evening. In Totus Tuus, there is a special emphasis on Marian devotion, the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Reconciliation, and most especially, vocational discernment.
