When Cardinal Karol Wojtyla became Pope John Paul II in 1978, he chose as his motto a simple Latin phrase: Totus Tuus, or in English, “Totally Yours”. Over the course of his papacy, this motto took on a dual symbolism: the ongoing renewal and rededication of the Church to her heavenly spouse, Christ, and also the reinvigoration of the Church’s mission of service to the wider world. In many ways, the now-sainted Pope uttered this motto both to God, and to the people he had been chosen to shepherd.

 

By the time the program we know today as Totus Tuus was organized in Dodge City, Kansas, John Paul II had been Pope for fifteen years. The 1990s were a time of growth and optimism in certain areas of the Church – but also, growing concern in others. While the Catholic faith advanced at exponential speed through Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean, Europe and North America were beginning to experience an ebb tide; the Church in the United States, in particular, was facing a youth engagement problem. The average age of a practicing Catholic crept steadily upwards; meanwhile, the old surety of formalized catechism had largely fallen by the wayside. Parents who wanted to keep their children engaged in the faith needed a resource; beginning in 1993, Totus Tuus was designed to fill this niche.

Daniel Lacourrege, the Diocese of Burlington’s catechetical director and coordinator of the diocese’s Totus Tuus program, says he sees the difference the program makes from year to year. “When I started as coordinator three years ago, I had no idea what Totus Tuus was” Lacourrege explained; “I was completely blown away by how amazing the program was…it was put together originally to help parishes that lack the means to put together what’s traditionally known as a vacation Bible school.” Today, Totus Tuus operates in about a quarter of all dioceses in the United States; much of the time, in places where dioceses and individual parishes need help with youth catechesis.

 

Totus Tuus’ efforts are maintained by missionaries, young adults who travel to various dioceses to operate camps and other programs; “This year, the missionaries we’ve hired are amazing…they are the heart and soul of Totus Tuus. They are these young, on fire, typically college-aged missionaries who want to share their love of the gospel with other young people, and I consider it a privilege to visit them at each of our locations over the summer and just watch them at work.”

Vermont was among the first American dioceses to formally adopt a Totus Tuus program; with rare interruption, it has been offered every summer since 2008. “The process of finding missionaries has become more challenging” Lacourrege admitted; “When we started, there were only a handful of dioceses offering Totus Tuus; now there are about fifty.” Despite these increased challenges, Lacourrege maintains programs like Totus Tuus are essential to maintaining the diocese’s vitality; “For a lot of these kids, Totus Tuus might be the only time they will see a teenager or young adult living out their faith outside of church…that witness sows the seeds.”

 

“Each year the kids focus on learning something specific…this year, they are learning about the Sacraments” Lacourrege continued. “I’ve worked with some of these missionaries who’ve gone overseas or worked in different programs – they all say that Totus Tuus is by far the most concentrated program they work with.” Much of Totus Tuus takes the form of a typical summer day camp – Mass and adoration are punctuated with water balloon fights, art, and music – but it is first and foremost intended to supplement catechetical formation children receive year-round. “Parents tell me, consistently, that their kids get more out of Totus Tuus from a catechesis perspective than a lot of more conventional year-round programs.”

 

Viewing Totus Tuus in action, it is easy to see why the program adopted Pope John Paul II’s motto as its own name. Much like the Pope used the phrase to signify, dually, his total commitment to God and to the Church at large, the missionaries and organizers of Totus Tuus commit themselves totally, for several intensive weeks each summer, to focusing completely on the faith and on each other. A humorous term for Totus Tuus in its early years was “applied catechism class” – showing young Catholics not only the “what” of their faith, but the “why” and “how” as well. As the 2025 Totus Tuus season draws to a close, Lacourrege says he sees tremendous potential for the program’s growth; “We have more parishes asking to host, more families asking to participate…my hope is that this can be offered to as many as possible in our diocese.”

 

For the missionaries of Totus Tuus, the theme of total commitment is no idle boast; theirs is a calling to serve, to bear joyful witness, and to help young Catholics grow, a calling they embrace with vigor that can only inspire hope.