Jem Sullivan

Academic Areas

  • Catechetics
  • School

  • School of Theology and Religious Studies
  • Expertise

  • History and theory of catechetics
  • Catechesis and the arts
  • Liturgical catechesis
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church
  • Catechesis and the New Evangelization
  • Catechetical documents
  • Languages

  • French, Italian (reading)
  • Biography

    Dr. Jem Sullivan serves as associate professor of practice in Catechetics in the School of Theology and Religious Studies at The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the history and theory of Catechetics. Dr. Sullivan was appointed to serve as a member of the International Council for Catechesis under the auspices of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, Rome. Her research and publications focus on liturgical catechesis and the place of beauty and the arts in catechesis and evangelization. For three decades, Dr. Sullivan has engaged actively in catechetical initiatives at the national and diocesan levels, including serving as lead staff to the USCCB Subcommittee on the Catechism. Dr. Sullivan is the author of four books on catechetical themes: A Study Guide to the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults; The Beauty of Faith: Christian Art and the New Evangelization; Opening the Door of Faith: A Study Guide for Catechists and the New Evangelization; and Believe, Celebrate, Live, Pray: A Weekly Walk with the Catechism of the Catholic Church. She is the host of a podcast "Echoing Faith Today," that engages discussion on contemporary themes in catechesis and evangelization in the Directory for Catechesis

    Dr. Sullivan is the principal investigator and project lead for a liturgical catechesis project funded by a $802,000 grant award from Lilly Endowment Inc. in its Nurturing Children in Worship and Prayer Initiative.

    Publications

    • Believe, Celebrate, Live, Pray

      Believe, Celebrate, Live, Pray

      Believe, Celebrate, Live, Pray: A Weekly Walk with the Catechism
      Our Sunday Visitor, 2020

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    • Summary of the Directory for Catechesis

      Summary of the Directory for Catechesis

      Summary of the Directory for Catechesis
      USCCB Publishing, 2020

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    • Opening the Door of Faith

      Opening the Door of Faith

      Opening the Door of Faith: A Study Guide for Catechists and the New Evangelization
      Our Sunday Visitor, 2012

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    • The Beauty of Faith

      The Beauty of Faith

      The Beauty of Faith: Using Christian Art to Spread the Good News
      Our Sunday Visitor, 2009

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    • Study Guide for the US Adult Catholic Catechism

      Study Guide for the US Adult Catholic Catechism

      Study Guide for the US Adult Catholic Catechism
      Our Sunday Visitor, 2006

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    Articles

    “Catechesis and the Arts: Attending to The Way of Beauty,” The International Journal of Evangelization and Catechetics, vol. 1, no. 2 (2020): 143 – 167. (Project MUSE - Catechesis and the Arts: Attending to the “Way of Beauty” (jhu.edu)

    Per Una Pedagogia Dell’Atto di Fede (Toward A Pedagogy of the Act of Faith) in Il Catechista Testimone Della Fede: Far Crescere il desiderio di Dio nel cuore degli uomini. A Publication of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, Edizioni San Paolo, 2018. Conference paper presented at the International Catechetical Congress 2013, Rome

    Jem Sullivan, Basil Cole., "The Role of the Fine Arts in the Spiritual Life," Logos: A Journal of Catholic Thought and Culture, University of St. ThomasVolume 9, Number 3, Summer 2006, pp. 118-133.

    Book reviews

    Book review of Brian Pedraza, Catechesis for the New Evangelization: Vatican II, John Paul II, and the Unity of Revelation and Experience. Washington, DC: The Catholic University of America Press, 2020. 317 pages. In The International Journal of Evangelization and Catechesisvol. 2, no.2, Fall 2021, pp. 275 - 277

    Book review of Mark Torgerson, An Architecture of Immanence: Architecture for Worship and Ministry Today. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2007. xiii + 313 pages. (paper) in Horizons, volume 35, Issue 1, Spring 2008, pp. 173 – 174. (Published online by Cambridge University Press, 18 March 2013)

    Podcasts

    Host of podcast "Echoing Faith Today," a series of conversations on the Directory for Catechesis (2020).