New director of formation for children brings ‘practical experience’

The new director of the Office of Discipleship Formation for Children takes to heart Jesus’ words to His disciples: “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 18:3).”

“Children have a natural capacity for wonder and are open to communion with Jesus if they are raised in an environment that fosters this communion,” Jill Kerekes says. “Fostering this openness to communion helps the child grow in holiness as he ages and gives him strength for when he starts to encounter the spiritual challenges that are common to teens as they grow and develop. A child that is open to communion with Jesus also can serve as an evangelizer in a family.”

Kerekes, a parishioner of St. Magdalen de Pazzi in Flemington, assumed her new role for the Diocese of Metuchen on Aug. 14. She replaced Carol Mascola who has retired.

The job entails supporting the pastors, parish catechetical leaders and parish catechists in their parish catechetical programs.

Kerekes sees parents as the primary educators of their children. “Catechetical programs, Catholic schools and the community of believers assist parents in this formation, but parents are by far the most important educators,” she says. “Parents actually make a commitment to bring up their children in the faith when the children are baptized, and this commitment needs to be taken seriously. Parents teach their children what it means to be a disciple of Jesus by their actions, words and openness to communion with Jesus. Children observing their parents living out their faith authentically is actually the primary predictor for the children continuing to practice their faith as adults.”

According to Kerekes, the breakdown of the family is the primary challenge children face in the modern world. “Even if a child is from an intact nuclear family, it is common for there to be disorder in the extended family and in the wider social circle.”

In addition, many children “seem to be cut off from the natural world,” preferring screens over fresh air and sunshine, texting friends instead of talking to them, she continues. “They crave truth, beauty and goodness but are directed toward many things that provide the opposite. Both children and adults seem to have lost the sense of what it means to be a human being, made in God’s image.”

She plans to focus on fostering parish religious education programs as centers of conversion and formation. The overarching premise for events and formation opportunities from the Office of Discipleship Formation for Children will be that catechesis is meant to be evangelizing.

Kerekes was born and raised in Maine; she is a proud Acadian who earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Rochester, a master’s in pastoral theology from the Augustine Institute in Denver and a master’s in catechesis and evangelization from Franciscan University.

A wife and mother of four children, she has worked as a theology teacher at Immaculata High School, Somerville, St. Joseph High School, Metuchen, and associate director for parish and school catechesis in the Diocese of Trenton.

“I bring a lot of practical experience to this position and have a real-world understanding of many of the difficulties associated with evangelizing and catechizing children and adults,” she says. “I feel like it is a privilege to serve the good people of the Diocese of Metuchen and hope that I can be used in this role as an instrument to lead people to Jesus.”