VATICAN CITY — A pontifical council is preparing to launch a new app on the Catechism of the Catholic Church in order to help promote and better expand Church teaching throughout the world.

“Catechesis is important for the Church first of all because it is the attempt we had from the beginning of our faith: to put together the knowledge, the content of our faith and the coherent witness that we should have,” said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, head of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization.

The app, which will be released first in Italian and available on mobile phones and tablets, is important, he said, because it provides “a possibility of using the Catechism in a new way" and will "challenge people also to use it.”

More than one billion smartphones were estimated to be in use in 2012, according to the research group Strategy Analytics.
Although no definite launch date yet exists for the Catechism app, it could come as early as next month.

During an interview with CNA, Archbishop Fisichella reflected on the need for catechesis globally, saying that those who teach the faith play a crucial role, particularly in Africa and Latin America.

He also reflected on the role of women engaged in catechesis, reflecting that, they are “the majority in our parishes, and with generosity, they work in order to transmit faith to the new generations.”

The archbishop is one of several experts currently present in Rome for the International Congress of Catechists, which will be held Sept. 26-28 to discuss the topic of catechesis throughout the world. The congress will examine new methods to promote a better means of spreading the Gospel, including the new app.

Archbishop Fisichella said the congress will be attended by more than 1,600 people who are seeking a common understanding on catechesis, “but also in order to dialogue with each other and to check and to verify the different experiences we have in this field and the world.”

Pope Francis is also expected to hold an audience with the attendees of the Congress, which, Archbishop Fisichella said, will be especially important for the pontifical council tasked with the New Evangelization.