“The prepared environment is called the ‘atrium’...
it is a place of spiritual retreat…
in which work easily becomes prayer…
a place of worship where children and adults
celebrate the Word together.”
- Sofia Cavalletti
Unlike a classroom, the atrium is a spiritual environment - “holy ground” where the child may encounter God in Word and liturgy.
The hands-on materials in the atrium encourage children to explore and deepen their experience of God at their own pace. The children are free to choose and work with carefully designed materials which transpose the Christian message into the language of the child - a language that is necessarily sensorial.
The adult’s role is to prepare the environment, proclaim the Christian message by means of the various CGS materials, and then step back, allowing God and the child to work together on their relationship.
The children’s work in the atrium prepares them for involvement in the larger worshipping community.
The Edith Stein Atrium in the John Paul II Pastoral Centre is a Level 1 CGS atrium. It was developed for the purpose of serving the 3-6 year-old children of Pastoral Centre workers (registration is opened up to others if there is additional space), but also as a means of introducing Pastors, CISVA principals and teachers, and the general lay faithful to Catechesis of the Good Shepherd.
Would you like to learn more about CGS? We invite you to come in for an atrium tour and an in-depth introduction to this amazing ministry!
For more information or to book an atrium tour, contact Monica Perry at [email protected] or Murita Chua at [email protected].