Certification and Renewal

Basic Certification

Basic Certification consists of a comprehensive program from the Diocese of Sacramento for all catechists, who minister in Catholic Schools, Faith Formation programs, parish ministry, parents, or anyone who would like to be certified as have completed a course of study in foundational Catholic faith formation.  All catechists from the Diocese of Sacramento are required to obtain their Catechist Certification.  

The Diocese of Sacramento's requirements for Catechist Certification fall in line with the Catechist Guidelines required by the California Catholic Conference which can be found here: https://www.cacatholic.org/catechists-guidelines


Course of Study accepted to be certified as a Catechist/Lay Minister. 

This course of study required should be consistent with the General Directory for Catechesis, National Directory for Catechesis and carefully follows the Catechism of the Catholic Church. 

The Diocese of Sacramento offers a course that fulfills this requirement called Catechetical Foundations. This is an 8 unit course of formation that will equip and form participants with a solid foundation in the Catholic Faith. For more information on this course please see: https://www.scd.org/catecheticalfoundations

If you have completed other coursework through another diocese, or educational institution and would like to know if this fulfills the coursework for certification, please contact the Office of Family and Faith Formation at (916) 733-0177.

What is required to be certified as a Catechist? 

In order to be certified as a catechist with the Diocese of Sacramento the following must be fulfilled:

To earn your Catechist Certification, you will need to complete the following:

  1. Satisfactory completion of an approved course of study.
  2. Spiritual Development of the Catechist  - The Spiritual Development Component is completed through participation in an activity from two or more of the following categories:
    • Ministry Days or another Region XI Diocesan Conference
    • Full-day or weekend Retreat
    • Full-day Justice/Service Project
    • Ongoing Spiritual Direction
    • Ongoing Faith Sharing Group
  3. One year of catechetical experience
  4. Evaluation of performance (this includes an observation and evaluation of at least one catechetical session)
  5. Submission of her/his Application for Certification

What is required to be certified as a Lay Minister? 

In order to be certified as a catechist with the Diocese of Sacramento the following must be fulfilled:

To earn your Catechist Certification, you will need to complete the following:

  1. Satisfactory completion of an approved course of study.
  2. Spiritual Development  - The Spiritual Development Component is completed through participation in an activity from two or more of the following categories:
    • Ministry Days or another Region XI Diocesan Conference
    • Full-day or weekend Retreat
    • Full-day Justice/Service Project
    • Ongoing Spiritual Direction
    • Ongoing Faith Sharing Group
  3. Submission of her/his Application for Certification

How do I renew my certification? 

In order to renew your certification you will need the following:

1. Thirty clock hours of coursework in the following areas:

  • Church History (5 hours)
  • Sacred Scripture (5 hours)
  • Other (20 hours)

2. Spiritual Development  - The Spiritual Development Component is completed through participation in an activity from two or more of the following categories:

  • Ministry Days or another Region XI Diocesan Conference
  • Full-day or weekend Retreat
  • Full-day Justice/Service Project
  • Ongoing Spiritual Direction
  • Ongoing Faith Sharing Group

3. Safe Environment Clearance

4. Application

To find opportunities for ongoing formation go to: scd.org/ongoingformation