I WANT TOTUS TUUS IN MY DIOCESE
We are so excited that you are interested in joining the Totus Tuus family! Totus Tuus is a diocesan based program and is coordinated through a diocesan office, such as vocations, faith formation, religious education, etc. We are also willing to consider individual parishes as pilots if your diocese is not yet ready to launch a diocesan-wide Totus Tuus. The Diocese of Wichita aims to support dioceses. We have been richly blessed by this program and we want you to experience the same fruit in your diocese!
CONSIDERATIONS
- Diocesan coordinator - each diocese needs a coordinator who recruits, hires and trains missionaries as well as schedules parishes. Various diocesan offices host Totus Tuus: vocations, faith formation, youth/young adult ministry.
- Chaplain - your diocese needs a committed spiritual presence. This priest will not only minister to missionaries, but usually helps teach classes during training.
- Missionaries - each Totus Tuus Team consists of four young adults: two men and two women. The number of teams you need is determined by the number of parishes you serve. Most new dioceses begin with one or two teams in their first year.
- Paying teacher/missionaries - consult your diocesan Human Resources department about compensation laws in your state and diocesan policies. Some dioceses pay a flat stipend, others pay a weekly wage through diocesan payroll. The national average is $250 per week per missionary.
- Training - at the beginning of summer, you will equip your missionaries to spend a summer teaching and ministering to young people. Trainings can be held at parishes, retreat centers, seminaries, or high schools and vary in length from five to 10 days.
- Supplies - this will vary based on the size of your staff and how many parishes they will service. Prepare to spend $200 on a tub of supplies per team. You may also want to supply your missionaries with a polo and t-shirt for the summer.
- Mileage for missionaries - each team needs a driver and a vehicle to get from parish to parish. If a missionary uses their personal vehicle, they should be reimbursed by IRS standards.
- $499 - annual fee to Totus Tuus of Wichita for use of program name/model/logo as well as yearly materials. The $499 material fee is an annual due for use of the Totus Tuus name, logo, identity, national recruitment, and yearly curriculum.
- Funding a team - this varies diocese to diocese. You can charge a parish what you feel is appropriate to meet your program's needs. The lowest parish fee we're aware of is $1,500 and the highest is $3,500 for a single team.
- Host families - each parish will need to provide a place for the team to stay, one host home for the women and one for the men. It's helpful if these homes provide breakfast and use of a washer/dryer.
- Lunch/dinner for the team - the parish will need to provide meals for the team. Volunteers from the parish generally bring lunch to the parish each day. The team is usually hosted by a family in the parish for dinner each evening. This is a great way to involve parishioners and allows the team and the parish to get to know one another.
After considering the items above, follow these steps to become an official Totus Tuus diocese:
1) Obtain a letter of permission, written on Arch/Diocesan letterhead, from the Arch/Bishop to host Totus Tuus in the Arch/Diocese. Send this letter to:
Totus Tuus
424 N. Broadway
Wichita, KS 67202
2) Registration will open September 27th 2024! You will need to pay the annual fee of $499 online and you will then receive immediate access to the materials.
*Please note: the Diocese of Wichita does not send teams to other dioceses. The process outlined above is to launch Totus Tuus in your diocese.