Kateri Institute

At the same time, it is necessary to improve pastoral structures in such a way that the co-responsibility of all the members of the People of God in their entirety is... promoted...This demands a change in mind set, particularly concerning lay people. They must no longer be viewed as "collaborators"...but truly recognized as "co-responsible", for the Church's being and action...
- Pope Benedict XVI, Address to the Pastoral Convention of the Diocese of Rome, May 26, 2009

Since 1984 the Diocese of Albany has sponsored a program specifically designed to form lay men and women for service and leadership in a wide array of ministries – evangelization, catechesis, pastoral care of the sick, social justice, liturgy, Christian Initiation, to name just a few.  Over 1000 men and women have participated in this formation process. The current program, the Kateri Institute for Lay Ministry Formation, is committed to the holistic formation of participants: human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral. Through prayer, retreats, study, theological reflection, community building, and the development of ministry skills, the Institute offers participants the opportunity to explore how God and the community may be calling them to service within their parishes and vicariates. The Institute collaborates with other diocesan offices and agencies to provide additional skills and/or formation for leadership in a specific type of ministry.  The goal of the Kateri Institute is that, in collaboration with Bishop Scharfenberger, priests, deacons and vowed religious, the laity may continue to fulfill today the vision set forth by the Second Vatican Council: "Sharing in the function of Christ, priest, prophet, and king, the laity have an active part of their own in the life and activity of the church." (Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, no. 10)