Totus Tuus offers fun, games and Catholicism to diocesan youth
Michela Tenze Ramirez participates in the morning welcome at Totus Tuus at St. Martin de Porres Church in Prosper on Thursday, July 11, 2024. (NTC/Kevin Bartram).
Totus Tuus means “totally yours” in Latin and was the motto of Saint Pope John Paul II in the context of giving all of yourself to Jesus Christ through Mary.
Later, in 1987, Father Bernard X. Gorges of the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas applied the term to a summer youth program he created as a seminarian — a program that has made its way to Catholic churches across the nation.
This year, three parishes in the Diocese of Fort Worth held the Totus Tuus program as an alternative to holding traditional vacation bible school programs, as VBS curricula are often Christian, but not necessarily Catholic.
“Totus Tuus starts Catholic and stays Catholic,” said Jackie Bedore, director of catechesis and evangelization at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Grapevine.
The program offers an “opportunity for children to grow closer to Jesus through Mary,” Bedore stated. “This year, our children and youth will be learning about and meditating on the Sorrowful mysteries.”
Led by college-aged students who serve as missionaries, who are trained by the Diocese of Wichita or the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma, the program allows children the opportunity to see “faithful young Catholics joyfully leading and witnessing to the faith,” Bedore said.
The young missionaries, who stay in parishioners’ homes throughout the duration of their time teaching, bring passion for their faith along with songs, skits, games and youthful touches to those as young as 1st grade. Unlike vacation bible school, Totus Tuus allows opportunities for formation for teens through 12th grade.
It is this combination of spirituality and fun that has over 500 diocesan youngsters, their parents, and parishes excited about Totus Tuus.
While it is the second year for St. Francis to offer the program, it is the first for St. Martin de Porres in Prosper.
“The older kids are very attracted to these college-aged students who are living their faith,” said Deacon Andy Thomas of St. Martin de Porres Parish.
Having introduced the program in 2015, the parishioners at St. Stephen Parish in Weatherford have enjoyed nearly 10 years of the Totus Tuus formation.
Kathy Harmon, religious education director at St. Stephen, believes the program’s combination of spirituality and fun has parents and their kids excited about Totus Tuus. She said she often encounters positive stories and anecdotes from parents about their kids’ involvement.
Harmon shared one mom’s recounting of how her typically reticent teen returned unusually chatty after participating in the program. When questioned about his sudden change in demeaner, he simply replied that the day had ended with adoration and confession.
“To hear that,” Harmon said, “is just beautiful.”
Bedore from St. Francis of Assisi hopes to recruit young adults from the diocese to create a local missionary team.
"What I hope to do next year is to be able to get a total of eight parishes on board with Totus Tuus, hire our own missionary teams, send them to Wichita to be trained, and then present [the program] to those parishes,” she said.