STEUBENVILLE, OH—When the editor of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Christoph Cardinal Schonborn of Vienna, asked Franciscan University of Steubenville to collaborate with Maryvale Institute of Birmingham, England, and Studium de Notre Dame de Vie of Venasque, France, to promote authentic catechesis and the formation of catechists, he had no idea what kind of ripple effect this “catechetical friendship” would have on religious education offices across North America.
    The biggest wave of interest, thus far, for North American DREs is the arrival of The Sower catechetical journal, which can now be read online by subscribers or purchased at www.thesowerreview.org.
    The Sower gets an enthusiastic welcome from catechetical leaders for many reasons. Like many of his peers, Matthew Karr, director of Religious Education for the Archdiocese of Kansas City, sees “a great hunger among DREs and catechists for deeper faith formation.”
    Mary Jo Smith, national cable TV host for Image of God Faith Factory (EWTN) and catechetical conference presenter, echoes this need. “Many DREs from across the country ask me: ‘How can I help my catechists deepen their knowledge of the faith?’ Most DREs have a certain amount of catechetist training within their parish, which usually focuses on ‘how to’ and particulars of their own parish programs; but they are looking for something more ongoing and more in depth.”
    Other DREs point to features in The Sower. Ryan Hanning with the Diocese of Phoenix, Arizona, especially appreciates that The Sower has regular articles on RCIA.
    DREs Ken Ogorek, from Pittsburgh, and Ann Lankford, from La Crosse, Wisconsin, say the real draw for them is its ongoing series, “Learning Through Art,” which teaches the faith through classical artwork. Lankford finds the feature “simple yet profound,” and says it makes a great teaching tool with its full-spread poster. Then, “As catechists flip through the rest of the journal, they can delve more deeply into teachings of the Church.”
    The Sower is a professional quarterly periodical, though it has the look and feel of a popular full-color magazine. DRE Perry Lamkins of St. Bernard’s Parish in Enfield, Connecticut, says, “Continuing faith formation is essential for any catechist, or any Catholic for that matter. The fruit picked from reading The Sower comes from the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic approach to growing in faith.”
    The Sower was first published in 1921, under the direction of Canon Francis Drinkwater, a reformer of catechetical methods in the U.K. In July 2006, Franciscan University’s Office of Catechetics partnered with Maryvale Institute to promote The Sower in North America.
“Last summer The Sower only had a little over 100 U.S. and Canadian subscribers; now it’s closer to 1,000, mostly through word of mouth referrals,” says Franciscan University’s newly-hired Publications Director, Colleen Rainone.
    The first U.S. announcement of the partnered publishing effort between the two academic institutions came during Franciscan University’s 2006 annual St. John Bosco Conference for catechists and religious educators. Each of the 300-plus attendees received a copy of The Sower. Since that time the orders have been coming in, some quite significant:
•    The Archdiocese of Kansas City ordered 253 individual subscriptions for their diocesan professional staff, including DREs, RCIA directors, and clergy.
•    The Diocese of Duluth purchased 400 copies of the July-Sept issue, which focused on the Compendium of the Catechism, to give to DREs, catechists, youth ministers, and Catholic schoolteachers attending its 2nd Annual Diocesan Catechetical Assembly on September 8.
•    The Diocese of La Crosse also purchased 350 copies of the same issue to promote The Sower at their summer catechetical conference.
•    The Department of Religious Education in the Diocese of Pittsburgh did its own promotion of The Sower earlier in the year and sent in close to 100 subscriptions.
•    During the 2007 Bosco Conference, Debbie Richard of Nova Scotia packed as many copies as her bag could hold to bring back for her diocesan catechetical meeting.
    Summing up the value of this teaching-oriented yet readable catechetical publication, Cardinal Schonborn wrote to Franciscan University, “I see in The Sower a wonderful instrument to assist in the renewal of catechetics today. It draws its energy and life from a clear appreciation of how the Blessed Trinity overflows with grace to draw people, through the Church, into the glory of the love that never ends.”
    Director of Catechetics, Ron Bolster, hopes The Sower, “will be another means for Franciscan University to continue its mission of outreach to catechists, religious educators, and catechetical leaders in the field. We look forward to this additional opportunity to advance the Lord’s kingdom on earth."