St. Benedict Catechists:

We thank these faith-filled and dedicated women and men who serve our parish children and parents in our Sunday religious education program:

Kindergarten/Grade 1: Ashton Acree, Jane Grimes, Heather Little-Pilkin

Grade 2: Jeff Kinne & Debbie Lazzell

Grade 3/Grade 4: Trudy & Tony Butwin, Tina Elliott

Fifth Grade: Theo Sibley & Ben Schink

Middle School: Nikki & Justin Taylor

Childhood Catechesis

Mission:  To provide children, kindergarten through eighth grade, with religious instruction that assists parents as the primary religious educators of their children.  Classes meet Sunday mornings at 9:30-10:45am during the school year.

Kindergarten & First Grade:
Heather, Jane, and Ashton are eager to welcome your children to a classroom designed for children in the youngest grades. In the words of the U.S. bishops: “Catechetical programs for children in daycare, preschool, kindergarten, and 1st grade seek to foster their growth in a wider faith community. The program is suited to the age, circumstances, and learning capacity of young children and be designed to reinforce the primary human and Christian values present in the family.”


Second Grade –  Preparation for First Reconciliation and First Communion:
Our tradition at St. Benedict’s is to offer the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist to properly prepared second graders. Eucharist is one of the three Sacraments of Christian Initiation, which initiate Catholics into the Church. The other two are Baptism and Confirmation. The Sacrament of Eucharist is central to Catholic life, and, unlike the other Sacraments of Initiation, Catholics are called to celebrate the Sacrament of Eucharist again and again.

First Communion Mass will be celebrated on Sunday, May 5th, 2024, at 11:00 a.m.

Third and Fourth Grade:
This is the age when children discover abstract thought, they discover what it means to believe, to know right from wrong, to stand for something. It is an important time for developing their identity as people, as Catholics, as children of God. Our teachers hope to help form your child’s Catholic identity around core Catholic beliefs, practices, and principles so that they can truly embody their faith.


The Fifth Grade Program:
Our 5th graders are not quite ready for the Middle School Program but have usually outgrown the 3rd and 4th grade Sunday School classes. So, St. Benedict’s offers a unique program just for 5th graders. Building on the goals of the 3rd and 4th grade classes – to develop the young believers’ self-identity as a Catholic – the 5th grade program is more action oriented, with service projects, prayer experiences, mini-retreats and learning units. Every Sunday is a little different!


Middle School Program:
This program is for students in the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. How do I connect my learning with my living? How can I bring my experience of life to my faith and my faith to my experience of life? These become big and real questions in middle school. Our program at St. Ben’s will meet twice each month to explore these questions together. On the other weeks, the middle schoolers are invited to help with the younger children as well.


Confirmation Preparation:
As a general rule, the Archbishop of Indianapolis offers the sacrament of confirmation to students in the 10th grade, although students can choose to prepare for the sacrament any time in their high school career. Veronica Rogers, Matthew Newmann, Maria Smith and others coordinate an excellent program for all the Catholic youth of Terre Haute. We meet twice a month on Sunday afternoon at St. Margaret Mary’s Church, at the same time as Teen Connect.

Confirmation with Archbishop Charles Thompson will be celebrated in August 2024.


Terre Haute Catholic: Teen Connection – High School Youth Ministry:
Terre Haute Catholic Teen Connection is a youth ministry program built on faith formation, family & peer bonding as well as service leadership in our communities. We are a community that brings together high schoolers from parishes across Terre Haute, focusing on the enrichment of our teenager's relationship with Christ and Catholic social teaching for this generation. We meet 2 Sundays monthly, September through May, and stay active throughout the summer with conferences, retreats, pop-up events and fundraisers.