This summer, the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois is excited to have Totus Tuus, a fun and faith-filled experience for children coming once again to several parishes across the diocese in June and July.

Totus Tuus is a weeklong Catholic youth program dedicated to sharing the Gospel and promoting the Catholic faith through evangelization, catechesis, Christian witness, and eucharistic worship. The program inspires in young people a true longing for holiness, a deep desire for daily conversion, and an openness to their vocation. 

Two teams of college-aged teachers are traveling to a different parish each week, hosting the five-day catechetical program for grades 1-12. The week is filled with faith, fun, and friendship. There are messy games and crazy skits, in addition to prayer, learning the sacraments, and going to Mass. The teachers also provide a witness to being an authentic disciple of Christ. The popular program sees hundreds of children participate every year in the diocese. 

“My favorite parts of Totus Tuus were learning the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes and fun ways to memorize them,” said Sophia Llosa, a previous Totus Tuus participant. “I liked that we had plenty of time to have our teachers explain them and talk about them. I also liked learning more about Mass and finally learning the songs for Mass, and I liked the snacks.” 

“I really liked the teachers, and their skits were so funny,” said Delaney Raskie, a previous Totus Tuus participant. “I also met new friends.”

For the schedule below, grades 7-12 are from Sunday-Thursday each week and the program is in the evenings. For grades 1-6, the program is Monday-Friday and starts in the morning and finishes in the afternoon.

June schedule:

• June 11-15 (grades 7-12), June 12-16 (grades 1-6): St. Francis Solanus (Quincy), Sacred Heart (Effingham)
• June 18-22 (grades 7-12), June 19-23 (grades 1-6): St. Boniface (Edwardsville), Our Lady of Lourdes (Decatur)
• June 25-29 (grades 7-12), June 26-30 (grades 1-6): Holy Family (Granite City), St. Isidore (Dieterich)

July schedule:

• July 9-13 (grades 7-12), July 10-14 (grades 1-6): St. Katharine Drexel (Springfield), St. Mary (Paris)
• July 16-20 (grades 7-12), July 17-21 (grades 1-6): St. John the Evangelist (Carrollton)

Costs vary by parish. For more information and to sign up your child, call the parish office that is hosting Totus Tuus near you. You can also contact Daniel Heffernan, programming coordinator, Office for Vocations, with questions at .