Totus Tuus

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 assist parents and parishes in the evangelizing and catechizing of their youth by supplementing the work they are already doing.

About Us

What is Totus Tuus?

Totus Tuus is a summer catechetical program that calls upon college aged students from across the United States to share the Gospel and promote the Catholic faith through evangelization, catechesis, Christian witness, and Eucharistic worship. This week-long parish summer catechetical program assists parents and parishes in the evangelizing and catechizing of their youth by supplementing the work they are already implementing. The methodology, structure, content, and enthusiasm of Totus Tuus is concerned not only with teaching the faith, but also igniting the hearts of the team members and young people.

Our college students are hired for their energy, enthusiasm, love for the faith, commitment to spiritual growth, ability to work with a team, and desire to work with youth.

Parish catechists are grouped into teams of four, each consisting of two men and two women, and are invited to a different parish every week for seven weeks, where they conduct a week-long “parish mission,” teaching and inspiring the parish’s youth.

Who Coordinates Totus Tuus?

Katie Matlak is the coordinator for Totus Tuus in the Diocese of Charlotte.

If you are interested in learning more about the Totus Tuus summer program, please contact Katie as soon as possible!

Katie Matlak,
Faith Formation Office
1123 S. Church Street
Charlotte NC 28203
Phone: 704-370-3246
Fax: 704-370-3291 / 704-370-3380

Who Teaches Totus Tuus?

College students from around the United States are recruited and sent through a rigorous interview process before being selected to teach Totus Tuus in our Diocese.

Each college student is sent to a ten-day catechetical training prior to the launch of Totus Tuus and meets all Safe Environment Compliance Training necessary to minister to and with the youth of our Diocese.

How Long is Totus Tuus?

Totus Tuus typically launches as a summer program in mid-June and comes to a close at the beginning of August.

The teams teaching Totus Tuus are sent to one parish for one week, and the parish program will last from Sunday evening and go til Friday afternoon.

Mission

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 constantly challenging them to give themselves entirely to Christ through Mary and by continually strengthening their prayer lives in imitation of Her.

Motivation

Totus Tuus, a Latin phrase meaning “totally yours,” was the motto of Pope John Paul II. Taken from St. Louis de Montfort’s True Devotion to Mary, 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.

Method

Totus Tuus calls upon college aged students from the Diocese of Charlotte and across the United States to carry this mission to every young person they encounter in the parish program. Students are hired for their energy, enthusiasm, love for the faith, commitment to spiritual growth, ability to work with a team, and desire to work with youth.

Parish catechists are grouped into teams of four, each consisting of two men and two women, and are invited to a different parish every week for seven weeks, where they conduct a week-long “parish mission,” teaching and inspiring the parish’s youth.