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Coordinator: Jo Ann Padgett - (303) 499-8989 x211

What is Catechesis of the Good Shepherd?
            Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) is a Roman Catholic catechesis that involves children in a religious experience that delights and engages them, satisfying the very real need we all have to experience the very "heart of the matter," our God who calls us into a covenant relationship with Him. CGS is almost sixty years old and has been used with children all over the world.  Recently, the Missionaries of Charity, struck by the response of the children to this way of presenting our faith, adopted it for its catechetical method with children but also for the formation of their postulants.  
            CGS had its origins in the work of Maria Montessori, who, unknown to many, was a devout Roman Catholic who saw the educational needs of the child to be both spiritual and didactic.  Her methods have been received with a mixture of adulation and skepticism, but recent educational research has more and more proven her to have been correct.  Her understanding of children and how they best learn laid the foundation for the work of two other Roman Catholic Italian women, Sofia Cavalletti and Gianna Gobbi.  In 1954, Sofia, a Biblical languages scholar, was asked to catechize a few young children of a friend.  She was inspired by the joy these children displayed when presented with the Word of God to delve deeper into this meeting of the "mystery of the child" and the "mystery of God."  Very quickly, another friend introduced her to Gianna, a Montessori Directress who had worked with Maria Montessori and experienced her early ideas on the religious formation of children.  They began a collaborative work that quickly spread to other catechists in other countries.  Following the children's responses to various lessons they, with the help of catechists around the globe, learned there are particular lessons of our faith that children of certain ages are hungry to hear.  When presented with these lessons they exhibit a response of joy and peace and the lessons seem to "take root" and grow in the spiritual life of the child.  Interestingly, the response to particular lessons at particular ages is universal to children no matter their national, ethnic, or social-economic background.
            Ms. Padgett has been involved in CGS since 1987. The program has been developed for children ages three through twelve years of age in 3 defferent levels, all of which are being offered to children of he parish from 4:00-6:00 pm on Tuesdays.  Ms. Padgett can also be reached by phone at 303-499-2466 and email at jgpadgett@comcast.net.
            Following is a brief biography of Ms. Padgett, whom we are blessed to have as a parishioner at Sacred Heart of Mary.

Biography

Ms. Padgett has been involved in the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd since 1987.  She holds certificates of training at all three levels and has worked with children aged three through twelve in an atrium setting.  Prior to learning about CGS she earned AMA certification as a Primary Montessori Directress.  She became recognized as a Formation Leader by the National Association in 2003 and has been busy leading Formation Courses for adults ever since.  She worked in Children's ministry for several years at the parish level and recently became part of the first graduating class from Aquinas Institute of Theology with a Master's in Pastoral Studies – Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, the first degree of its kind to be offered in the history of CGS.  She is a practicing Roman Catholic and currently resides in Boulder, Colorado.  She and her husband of 35 years have two children and two grandchildren.  Two years ago she was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Association of the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd and considers her work on the Board to be a gift back to an Association that has brought her blessings beyond number.