Catechesis of the Good Shepherd Atrium
THE HEART OF OUR PROGRAM
A Brief History of the
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd
The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) began in Rome, Italy in 1954 when Sofia Cavaletti, a Catholic and a Hebrew and Biblical scholar, joined with Gianna Gobbi, a Montessorian, to continue the work that Dr. Maria Montessori started before her death. Dr. Montessori had in her lifetime asserted that her own method “could only find its fullest expression when applied to teaching the Catholic faith.” By her own words, then, her educational ideas find their fulfillment in what is now called “The Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.” Today CGS is offered in centers throughout the world by trained Catechists who include the Missionaries of Charity, Nashville Dominicans, and The Franciscan Friars of Renewal.
The Atrium Program
Dr. Maria Montessori saw that the parents give the child the "whole". They bring the child for baptism and then to mass. Due to the nature of the young child, she found that they needed their own prepared place of prayer where they encountered what they experienced at mass.
The atrium is a place according to their own size and rhythm where they encounter the mysteries celebrated at mass.
This program offers a Prayer Environment created to help the child fall in love with the person of Jesus.
This is done through presenting parables, signs, and symbols and asking reflective questions to help ponder the great love of the Good Shepherd by means of lessons and beautiful sacred materials that nurture his innate spirituality, the child is assisted to enter into the great mysteries of God’s kingdom and of life.
$250/Session
Atrium sessions will run from September to December and January to May.
*Leading the Atrium sessions are Catechists who are certified by the National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.