The New Directory for Catechesis: A Historical Outline of Its Development and Drafting

Abstract

This article reconstructs the historical and ecclesial context, the background, and the main stages in the development and drafting of the 2020 Directory for Catechesis. Starting from its continuity with the directories of 1971 and 1997, it examines the ecclesial events and magisterial documents that fostered catechetical renewal, particularly the Second Vatican Council, the Synods of Bishops, the new evangelization, and the apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium. Special attention is given to the transfer of responsibility for catechesis to the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization and to the consultation, study, and revision processes undertaken from 2014 onwards. The study describes the successive drafting stages, the participation of experts, ecclesial bodies, and episcopal conferences, as well as the difficulties and decisions leading to the document's approval and publication. From this historical perspective, it identifies the Directory's fundamental orientations, including the centrality of the kerygma, catechumenal inspiration, missionary synodality, mercy, and attention to emerging cultural contexts. Finally, the article presents the Directory as the outcome of an ecclesial process of renewal shaped by the contributions of the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Francis, and as an instrument serving an evangelizing, missionary, and mystagogical catechesis.