Salesian Province of Chennai

A Centre to Promote Catholic Faith and Christian Values

DEEPAGAM is the Don Bosco Catechetical Centre for Catholic faith and Christian value formation. It is the animating body of the Salesians of the Chennai Province in the field of Evangelization and Catechesis. The mission of Deepagam is “To Share the Light”. It started in 1984 and it serves the Catholic Church and the Province in various ways viz., animation programmes, PACE/PAVE, catechetical formation and publication of religious books, audio and video songs.

In continuing the mission of Christ on earth, we strive to realize in the Christian faithful the maturity of faith, a life of witness and prayer in order to deepen their faith conviction and so enter into communion with God. The focal area for our Catechesis are: family, parish, Catholic schools, Christian associations, Christian movements, and basic ecclesial communities and community places. Seminars are animated by Salesians and lay collaborators, while keeping the Charism of youth apostolate in focus.

In fidelity to God and genuine concern for persons, Deepagam is guided by the mission of the Church. Following our master, Lord Jesus Christ, we work towards realization of the Kingdom of God amidst us. Church being our Mother and Teacher who strives to establish Kingdom of God on earth, animates the local Christian communities with four-fold pillars of the Kingdom namely, Didache (Teaching), Koinonia (Fellowship), Diakonia (Service), Leiturgia (Liturgy). Christian faithful are empowered to interpret human events, foster Christian unity and engage in fruitful dialogue with people and culture; we help pastoral communities to direct the hope of people to future realities in the light of the Gospel.

When Catechesis is faith formation, our mission is a sharing in that of the Church, coming of His Kingdom, by bringing to men the message of the Gospel, which is closely tied in with the development of the temporal order. We educate and evangelize according to a plan for the total well-being of man directed to Christ, the perfect Man. Faithful to the intentions of our Founder, our purpose is to form ‘upright citizens and good Christians’ (C. 31).

Deepagam caters to the spiritual needs of the Youth, School Children, Anbium (SCC) Leaders Altar Boys, Catechists and Teachers (Catholic and Non-Christians). Implementation of Don Bosco’s pastoral, spiritual and pedagogical program reaches its pivotal state in and through the retreats. Our guiding principle is pastoral charity and the Salesian spirit of Preventive System in which the entire community partakes. Jesus is our centre of spiritual animation, inspired by the shepherding mandate to care for the sheep entrusted. We help our faithful to encounter Jesus Christ in their day-to-day life and lead a transformed life that integrates love in deeds.

In this spirit, we impart two strands of certified trainings - one for Catechists and the other for Religion Teachers in Schools/ITI and Colleges. PACE (Professional Approach to Christian Education is for Catholic Teachers and PAVE (Professional Approach to Value Education) for Non-Catholic Teachers. We evangelize and educate/train through a project of holistic development. Because, there is a profound and unbreakable relation between educational activity and evangelizing activity (Salesian Youth Ministry: Frame of Reference, No.3.2).

Our Vision

To promote deeper knowledge and commitment to Jesus Christ and His teachings centring on the Kingdom of God. Through our faith sharing we make our young people as agents to establish the Kingdom of God.
To educate the non-Christians especially the young to imbibe Gospel values towards their integral development. We empower them to become agents of social transformation.

Our Objectives

Our plan of action and objectives are

To assist every house in the province in their initiatives towards evangelization and catechesis.
To evolve initiatives in catechizing the Catholic faithful for and with whom we work.
To plan and execute holistic strategies for evangelization and catechesis.
To enhance the ministry of catechesis done through catechism classes in our institutions, schools and parishes.
To enhance the value education process in our schools and institutions.
Our approach is to carry out our mission with immense respect for persons and their culture, inspired by a genuine love and interest in their integral growth and maturity.