Totus Tuus is a summer Catholic youth program dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic Faith through evangelization, catechesis, Christian witness, and Eucharistic worship. Our week-long Parish Summer Catechetical Program assists parents and parishes in the evangelizing and catechizing of their youth by supplementing the work they are currently doing.
The methodology, structure, content, and enthusiasm of Totus Tuus are concerned not only with teaching the Faith, but also igniting the hearts of the team members and the young people they encounter. The result has been the formation of young adults who continue to dedicate themselves to the Church’s mission of evangelization along with many vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
The mission of Totus Tuus is to inspire in young people a true longing for holiness, a deep desire for daily conversion and an openness to their vocation by the constant challenge to give themselves entirely to Christ through Mary and by continually strengthening their prayer lives in imitation of Her.
Totus Tuus, a Latin phrase meaning “Totally Yours,” was the motto of Pope Saint John Paul II. Taken from St. Louis de Montfort’s “True Devotion to Mary” phrase, it signifies our desire to give ourselves entirely to Jesus Christ through Mary. It also expresses our effort to give our all to every young person we encounter. Through the teams’ example of joy and service, the youth see that these men and women are on fire with the Catholic Faith and long for the same thing in their lives.
Totus Tuus calls upon college students and seminarians from across the United States to carry this mission to every young person they encounter. These young men and women are hired for their energy, enthusiasm, love of the Faith, commitment to spiritual growth, ability to work with a team and a desire to work with youth.
Teams of four, two men and two women, travel to a different parish each week, hosting a five-day catechetical program for grades 1-12, similar to “Vacation Bible School." The week is filled with faith, fun, and friendship. There are messy games and crazy skits. Our college-age teachers provide an authentic witness to the students.
Sacred Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church provide the foundation of the catechetical instruction of our program. Consequently, Totus Tuus has divided the four pillars of the Catechism into a six-year teaching cycle:
Year One: The Mystery of Salvation
Year Two: The Apostles' Creed
Year Three: The Sacraments
Year Four: The Commandments
Year Five: The Virtues
Year Six: Prayer and the Our Father
To complement this cycle, Totus Tuus follows a four-year cycle dedicated to the mysteries of the Rosary:
The Joyful Mysteries
The Luminous Mysteries
The Sorrowful Mysteries
The Glorious Mysteries
It's no surprise that a summer of deep prayer, selfless service, and total abandonment to God's will is the perfect place to foster vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and the married life.
Dozens of young men and women credit their time serving as a Totus Tuus missionary with inspiring and helping form their vocation.
Traveling across the diocese, teaching the Faith, and investing in a community while interacting with priests has opened the eyes of many young men to the diocesan priesthood.
A team of Totus Tuus Missionaries consists of two men and two women. These college-aged students and seminarians are dynamic, faith-filled individuals who love Jesus and His Church.
Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is built into the Totus Tuus weekly schedule.
It wouldn't be Totus Tuus without a little mess and a lot of fun. We end every week with a water fight, human sundae, or other activity.