Breaking news: The YOUCAT Foundation welcomes a new management!

Rafael D'Aqui - Executive Director and Head of Outreach

After almost two years of Theresia Theuke’s valuable commitment as Director of the YOUCAT Foundation, we would like to THANK her from the bottom of our hearts. Theresia has created a stable foundation and clear structures upon which we can now continue to build. With Rafael D’Aqui as our new Executive Director and Head of Outreach, we are continuing on this path, working to take the YOUCAT mission to the next level.

Rafael is an experienced Brazilian missionary and catechist with over 15 years of experience! He has worked for Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) in Africa and Latin America. He has been tirelessly pushing the mission of YOUCAT since October. “Professionalism and passion for evangelization have always been the benchmarks of YOUCAT,” says D’Aqui. “I am honored to provide catechists and faith builders with the tools they need to do their indispensable work in today’s world.”
Rafael’s worldwide network will help us to expand the YOUCAT Foundation and inspire young people from all continents in their faith. Welcome on board, Rafael! 🙌

Elisabeth Bauer - Communications and Social Media Manager

Our new employee, Elisabeth Bauer (since October 2024), looks forward to building a great community with you. With her experience in youth ministry, Elli is full of fresh ideas and a lot of enthusiasm!
As Communications and Social Media Manager, she is responsible for a holistic communications strategy for the YOUCAT Foundation. Elli will also manage our social media channels. Hints of her spirited work are already visible. The best way to see for yourself is to visit us on Instagram / Facebook. It’s so nice to have you, dear Elli! 🫶

P. Joachim Moernaut FSO - Spiritual Assistant of the YOUCAT Foundation

And now for the highlight of the year! The long-awaited position of Spiritual Assistant for the YOUCAT Foundation has finally been filled! From December, Father Joachim Moernaut FSO will be supporting the YOUCAT community.

P. Joachim is a Belgian priest and member of the community “The Spiritual Family – The Work”. With his extensive theological knowledge as a fundamental theologian and his many years of experience in pastoral work with families and catechists, he is an invaluable gift to the YOUCAT community. Together with Rafael D’Aqui, Fr. Joachim plays a leading role in developing new strategies and content. Bringing together catechists worldwide in a Missionary Network and promoting the support of faith formators worldwide is an important concern of Fr. Joachim. We are firmly convinced that he will strengthen YOUCAT’s missionary identity as our new spiritual assistant. The YOUCAT team feels grateful and confident to have a committed priest at our side whose heart burns for Jesus and re-evangelization. We are delighted, dear Father Joachim, that you have said “YES” to this special mission! 🙏

Strengthening the Missionary Network

Following the success of the YOUCAT Missionary Network at World Youth Day 2023 in Lisbon, we are now looking ahead: YOUCAT’s future vision aims to provide even more resources to catechists and youth leaders worldwide. Together with ACN (Aid to the Church in Need) – a Catholic aid organization that supports Christians worldwide, especially in regions where they are persecuted or oppressed -, YOUCAT is working on an ambitious goal: Building a strong network of missionaries for Christ and providing high-quality content so that the Christian message can reach even the most remote and challenging regions.

We would like to highlight Pope Francis’ foreword to the new Italian edition of the YOUCAT Youth Catechism. He urgently emphasizes: “Please do not keep these thoughts to yourself.” This call from the Pope reflects the very heart of the Missionary Network: not keeping your faith to yourself, but actively taking it out into the world. Pope Francis is a passionate advocate of such initiatives that encourage young people to share the love and message of Christ with others – which is precisely the mission of the YOUCAT Missionary Network.

To promote this mission, YOUCAT is relying on an increased digital presence. Platforms such as CREDOPEDIA and social media play a central role in this. This focus on global networking and exchange is a decisive step towards further expanding the Missionary Network and promoting faith formation worldwide.

Join the Missionary Network!