Ipswich parish launches guide to Catholic faith

A booklet introducing converts to the Catholic faith, produced by St Pancras Parish in Ipswich, has quickly gained popularity and is now in its second printing, with interest growing beyond the parish community.

Originally written as a programme of instruction for converts, A Simple Outline of the Catholic Faith has proved popular beyond expectations. Following its first printing in September 2023, 500 copies have been distributed to interested readers in Ipswich and further afield. Available free of charge to parishioners at St Pancras (although contributions towards the cost of printing have been invited), the slim booklet has been taken up eagerly by Mass-goers, visitors, and even by some members of the clergy.

This local, parish-based initiative had no plan beyond providing copies for parishioners. Yet enquiries have since come from outside the parish, with requests for mailed copies—these, however, incur a charge. The team behind the booklet has been “taken aback” by the interest it has garnered, even beyond the parish community.

Parishioners have described the booklet as “instructive” and “packed with detail”, with many noting that they “learnt a lot”. These insights have contributed to its growing demand. Made up of twenty short chapters covering such topics as ‘Creation and the Angels’, ‘Grace and the Sacraments’, ‘The Life of Virtue’, and ‘The Four Last Things’, the booklet introduces readers to the basics of our religion through catechetical instruction as well as quotations from the Scriptures, the Fathers of the Church, and the saints.

Each two-page chapter includes a ‘Did you know?’ fact. The booklet also contains a collection of basic and familiar prayers for Catholics to learn by heart, such as the Apostles’ Creed, the Hail, Holy Queen, an Act of Contrition, and Prayers for the Souls in Purgatory. The final two pages gather a glossary of Catholic words and terms that help introduce newcomers to various Catholic ideas and practices. Many readers have found that it helps them “learn more about the faith” and understand “what it means to be catechised”.

A Simple Outline of the Catholic Faith has been so successful that it is now enjoying a second print run just twelve months after its launch.

If you’re interested in receiving a mailed copy of the booklet, please send your enquiries to: parishpriest@stpancraschurch.org.uk

Pictured above: Parish catechist, Lisa de Pasquale, inspects the latest edition of A Simple Outline of the Catholic Faith. Picture credit: Rose Pattern

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