USCCB - (Office of Media Relations) - Compendium of the Catechism Officially Presented at Education Congress

Compendium of the Catechism Officially Presented at Education Congress

WASHINGTON (April 10, 2006) –All high school students, all teachers, all catechists, and all parents should have and use the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church as part of their faith formation, noted Cardinal Roger Mahony, of Los Angeles, during the April 7th opening ceremony at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress.

Cardinal Mahony announced that for the first time in the U.S., the English and Spanish editions were officially available. The Compendium was launched by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops at the annual Congress.

Starting Friday morning, USCCB Publishing and various other publishers and vendors sold the first copies available to the general public. USCCB marketing specialist Therese Brown commented, "It was a whirlwind of excitement. People were simply delighted to finally have it in their hands."

By mid-Saturday morning, all fifteen hundred copies of the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church in the Anaheim Convention Center exhibit area were sold-out. The launch of the English translation of the Vatican's new Compendium of the Catechism was a huge success. Overall, the first printing of 50,000 paperbacks was all but gone within the first few days of publication.

The Los Angeles Religious Education Congress is the largest event of it kind. This year an estimated 40,000 people attended from 47 states and the District of Columbia as well as Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe. "We felt that this would be the best place to make the biggest impact for this important event in the life of the Church," said Paul Henderson, executive director of publishing at the USCCB. "The Compendium of the Catechism is sure to become a foundational educational resource in the life of the universal Church."

Information on the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church can be found by visiting the USCCB Publishing Internet site Internet site at www.usccbpublishing.org or by calling 800-235-8722. It is available in English and Spanish in both paperback and cloth. It is also available through Amazon.com and at most local bookstores.