The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
The
atrium is the meeting ground of two mysteries:
the
mystery of God and the mystery of the child.
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
is not a curriculum
but rather an approach
to
the
religious formation of children and adults
that is rooted in Sacred Scripture and Liturgy
and compatible with the inherently dignified
educational principles and philosophy of
Maria Montessori.
An interpersonal relationship
is always a mystery; it is more so when it involves a relationship with God; when the relationship is between God and the
child the mystery is greater still. (Sofia Cavalletti, RPOC, p. 30)
Central to this approach is the preparation of the atrium, a lovely
environment which may be likened to a retreat center for children, and the use of beautiful hand-made materials that help
concretize scripture, sacraments, liturgical gestures and key liturgical moments. Once children are given a lesson on a certain
theme, the accompanying material remains available to them so that they are free to continue their meditation on that lesson
whenever they choose. The Archdiocese of New York calls CGS the "preferred method" of catechesis.
We try to put the child in touch with
those "sources" through which God reveals and communicates Himself in living form; namely, the Bible and Liturgy,
in balanced proportion. (Rebekah Rojcewicz, RPOC, p.28)
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd was inspired by Maria Montessori's pioneering work in
the field of education and her observations concerning the developmental and spiritual needs of the child. In 1954, Sofia
Cavalletti, a Roman Catholic Hebrew scholar, and Gianna Gobbi, a Roman Catholic Montessorian and educator of children
(Montessori herself signed her teaching certificate), founded the first atrium in Rome. Cavalletti and Gobbi drew upon
Montessori's research and experience with liturgical catechesis as depicted in The Child in the Church. Cavalletti's
classic work describing her experience with children in the atrium is The Religious Potential of the Child (Chicago,
Illinois: Liturgy Training Publications, 1992).
The
atrium is the name Maria Montessori gave to the environment dedicated to the child's religious life, recalling that space
in the ancient Christian basilicas which served as the anteroom of the church, both in the material and metaphysical sense
of the world. Montessori intended the atrium to be an intermediate space between the classroom and the church.
It is a place where the child comes to know the great realities of ...life as a Christian, but also and above all, a place
where the child begins to live these realities in meditation and prayer. There is nothing of the academic classroom
about the atrium; it is not a place for religious instruction but religious life. (Sofia Cavalletti,
RPOC,
p. 56)
The
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd has been in the United States for over 25 years and has been spreading steadily from parish
to parish. The National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd was founded in 1984 to support the work of catechists
throughout the U.S. and issues certificates upon completion of an approved course.
Materials
aid the children in understanding Scripture & Liturgy.

The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
takes its name from the parable and image of Jesus that seemed to appeal most to young children, no matter what their race,
gender, and/or socio-economic status. The statue above is representative of the one of the earliest known
Christian images, discovered in the catacombs of Rome.*
The Cenacle
Biblical geography helps place Jesus in time and space.
Photos are from an atrium in Alexandria, Virginia http://www.sharonchapel.org/cate03.html