Archives

CPD for Diakonia Pastoral Workers (2024/25)

18/09/2024   TBA

This course is designed for those serving in the Diakonia sector of a parish, helping participants connect their ministry with their spiritual journey. It offers a deeper exploration of the concept of ‘peripheries’ in today’s society, as emphasized in the teachings of Pope Francis. Participants will also gain foundational skills for addressing mental health issues, enriched by real-life experiences that showcase the impactful work already being done in this field.

  • Pastoral operators, staff, or volunteers who work in the Diakonia ministry
  • People interested in this ministry

Target Audience Age: 18+

Please Note: Following this course does not entitle the student to become automatically a pastoral worker involved in Diakonia in any given parish. Pastoral workers involved in Diakonia are chosen by the pastor of the parish/community. 

DateSession TitleMode of Delivery
15th October 2024IntroductionRecorded Video
October – December 2024The ‘peripheries’Recorded Videos
January 2025In-person seminar TBA
February – April 2025Delving Deeper in Mental Health IssuesRecorded Videos
April 2025 – May 2025Diakonia in our Parishes – Real ExperiencesRecorded Videos
May 2025In-person seminarTBA
This course has two exit certificate options: 
  1. Certificate of Attendance

To obtain a Certificate of Attendance, students must attend all course contact hours.

2. Certificate of Participation

To obtain a Certificate of Participation, students must attend all contact hours and pass from short multiple-choice online exam.

Teaching Institution/s: Pastoral Formation Institute in collaboration with Diakonia Commission

Qualifications: Each application will be evaluated based on its individual merits. The Pastoral Formation Institute welcomes a diverse array of qualifications, aiming to assess applications primarily in terms of academic potential. We consider a broad spectrum of academic, vocational, and professional qualifications, alongside relevant work experiences and skills.

Language: Applicants must be fluent in English and have basic proficiency in Maltese.

Digital: Applicants must be digitally literate, especially on how to access the internet and use office suites.

Preparing Catechists for the Christian Initiation of Adults

17/09/2024
RCIA

This course is eligible for the Get Formed! scheme, allowing students to reclaim 70% of their course fees upon completion. For more information, visit: https://pfi.edu.mt/get-formed/.

This course is designed to prepare committed Catholics to serve as catechists, guiding individuals on their journey toward full membership in the Catholic Church. Participants will learn how to accompany and support those discerning whether to join the Church, as well as newly baptized Catholics in their first months of initiation. The course will cover the key stages of the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), from initial inquiry to the period of Mystagogy, ensuring catechists are equipped to share the teachings of the Church with clarity, compassion, and faithfulness.

This course is intended for committed Catholics who would like to share their experience of what it means to be part of the Church with persons who are in a process of discernment about whether to become Catholics. Ideally, these persons would be active in a particular parish where the persons that they would be accompanying could become eventually rooted following their baptism.

This course does not entitle the student to become an accompanying person for Catechumens. The accompanying persons are appointed by the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) Team in collaboration with the Parish Priest/Chaplain of the respective community.

Target audience: 25+

Module 1 – Introduction to Basic Themes in Theology

This module will be offered entirely online, allowing you to complete it at your own pace and on your own schedule.

Module 2 – Historical and Theological Perspectives of Christian Initiation

These sessions will be held from 6:00pm – 8:00pm.

These sessions will be held at Ta’ Mlit Pastoral Centre, Mosta.

DateSession
8th January 2025The Initiation in the Early Church
15th January 2025The Development of the Rite/Order of the Christian Initiation of Adults
22nd January 2025Catechising During the Pre-Catechumenate Phase
And “Identity of the Catechist”
29th January 2025Catechising During the Catechumenate and the Enlightenment Phases
And “Methodology in Catechesis”
5th February 2025Catechising During Mystagogy
And “The Liturgy as a Mystagogical Journey”

Module 3: Practicum

Those who successfully finish Module 2 – Historical and Theological Perspectives of Christian Initiation may apply for this module which will consist in a 20 hour supervised accompaniment of a person going through the RCIA process, whilst being supported by other persons such as the parish priest and the catechists who will be providing catechesis to the person concerned, often in a group context.

This course has one exit certificate option:

1. Certificate of Achievement

The student will receive a Certificate of Achievement when students attend 80% of course contact hours and successfully complete and pass from all assessments, which are:

(i) a short online assessment

and,

(ii) a written assignment / reflective journal.

Enrolment for this course necessitates a recommendation from the Parish Priest/Chaplain of the relevant community, a requirement that is subsequently verified by PFI.

Language: Applicants must be fluent in English and have basic proficiency in Maltese.

Digital: Applicants must be digitally literate, especially on how to access the internet and use office suites.

Award in Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy in Schools

16/12/2023
Pastoral Care in Schools - team work
MQF

The Pastoral Formation Institute is licensed by MFHEA
(Licence #: 2013-FHI-023) as a Further and Higher Educational Institute. The Award in Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy in Schools is accredited at EQF/MQF Level 6, as a Higher Education Programme.

Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy in Schools are considered bridges between faiths and cultures in the contemporary context. Those involved in this mission must be well prepared to effectively share the joy of the Gospel and its values within schools in today’s pluralistic society. This course provides participants with the knowledge and practical skills needed to enhance effective Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy in Schools. It assists participants in developing a range of essential skills for this ministry, including reflective, analytical, critical, and synthetic thinking, as well as leadership, collaboration, interpersonal communication, listening, planning, and implementation.

Click here to view and download a detailed course description

This course is open to all individuals involved in the educational sector or with an expressed interest in working in this area.

Click here to view and download a detailed course description

CodeMode of DeliveryValue
PFE6005In-person (Face-to-Face Learning)3 ECTS

In this module, participants will be introduced to the concept of Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy in schools and will be prepared for this mission. Participants will have the opportunity to discuss and learn how Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy can facilitate dialogue between faiths and cultures in our contemporary pluralistic society. We will articulate how to nurture a wholesome attitude towards life, different religions and cultures, and the whole of creation, founded on Gospel values and the teachings of the Church.

CodeMode of DeliveryValue
PFE6006In-person (Face-to-Face Learning)3 ECTS

This module offers participants the opportunity to examine the richness and challenges of a multicultural and multifaith environment within the school community in the context of Pastoral Theology.

In the context of Pastoral Care/Chaplaincy, Pastoral Theology enables those involved in this ministry to nurture in their own lives and within the entire school community the truth that:

“The nature of the reign of God is the communion of all human beings between themselves and with God.”  

(Pope John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio)

This theme will be discussed through selected Scriptural texts and texts from the teachings of the Church and early Church Fathers.

CodeMode of DeliveryValue
PFE6007In-person (Face-to-Face Learning)3 ECTS

By the end of this module, participants will be able to identify various ways of fostering a relationship with the Transcendent/God through different methods of prayer. Participants will become more familiar with:

  • The meaning of spirituality
  • The spiritual development of the young (4-10 yrs.), youth (11-16 yrs.), and adults (18+), keeping in mind contemporary cultures.
  • How to plan and conduct various spiritual encounters and activities with the young (4-10 yrs.), youth (11-16 yrs.), and adults (18+).
CodeMode of DeliveryValue
PFE6008In-person (Face-to-Face Learning)3 ECTS

The aim of this module is to enable participants to build resources for designing and enriching liturgical and religious celebrations/activities in schools by exploring and adapting artistic expressions, media, and IT resources in the context of Pastoral Care/Chaplaincy.

CodeMode of DeliveryValue
PFE6009In-person (Face-to-Face Learning)5 ECTS

This module is divided into three parts:

Part One: One-day seminar – This seminar will enable participants to relate various leadership models and collaboration strategies to Pastoral Care/Chaplaincy in Schools.

Part Two: Half-day spiritual retreat – Participants will have time to reflect on their own spiritual journey in the light of selected Biblical texts and spiritual literature.

Part Three: Online reading – Four papers will be presented as online reading. These papers are related to all the modules and will enable participants to reflect on the different ways that Pastoral Care/Chaplaincy is expressed around the world. Participants will be asked to critically analyze and review these articles and use them to evaluate national experiences.

 

The course will take place once a week on Wednesdays from 3:30 pm to 5:30pm.

Seminar
DateTimeVenue
5th October 20248:30am – 12:30pmArchbishop’s Seminary, Tal-Virtù, Rabat
PFE6005 Module 1 – Pastoral Care/Chaplaincy in Schools: Promoting Human Dignity and Gospel Values in Contemporary Cultures
DateTimeVenue
9th, 16th, 23rd and 30th October 202415:30 – 17:30Ta’ Mlit Pastoral Centre, Mosta
6th, 13th and 20th November 202415:30 – 17:30Ta’ Mlit Pastoral Centre, Mosta
PFE6006 Module 2 – Nurturing Spirituality Through Pastoral Care/Chaplaincy in Schools
DateTimeVenue
27th November 202415:30-17:30Ta’ Mlit Pastoral Centre, Mosta
4th, 11th and 18th December 202415:30-17:30Ta’ Mlit Pastoral Centre, Mosta
8th, 15th and 22nd January 202515:30-17:30Ta’ Mlit Pastoral Centre, Mosta
PFE6007 Module 3 – Pastoral Theology in Relation to Pastoral Care/Chaplaincy in Schools
DateTimeVenue
29th January 202515:30-17:30Ta’ Mlit Pastoral Centre, Mosta
5th, 12th, 19th and 26th February 202515:30-17:30Ta’ Mlit Pastoral Centre, Mosta
5th and 12th March 202515:30-17:30Ta’ Mlit Pastoral Centre, Mosta
PFE6008 Module 4 – Practical Ways of Enriching Liturgical Celebrations and Religious Activities in Schools
DateTimeVenue
26th March 202515:30-17:30Ta’ Mlit Pastoral Centre, Mosta
2nd, 9th and 30th April 202515:30-17:30Ta’ Mlit Pastoral Centre, Mosta
7th, 14th and 21st May 202515:30-17:30Ta’ Mlit Pastoral Centre, Mosta
PFE6009 Module 5 – Internalizing and Evaluating Various Perspectives of Pastoral Care/Chaplaincy in Schools
DateTimeVenue
June 2025N/AN/A
Spiritual Retreat
DateTimeVenue
21st June 2025TBATBA

This course has one exit certificate option:

Certificate of Achievement

To receive a Certificate of Achievement, the student must:

  • Attend a minimum of 80% of all contact hours for this course.
  • Complete and pass assessments for all modules.
MQF

The Pastoral Formation Institute is licensed by MFHEA
(Licence #: 2013-FHI-023) as a Further and Higher Educational Institute. The Award in Pastoral Care and Chaplaincy in Schools is accredited at EQF/MQF Level 6, as a Higher Education Programme.

This course contributes towards the Accelerated Progression Scheme for educators as per the Sectoral Agreement signed in 2017.

Get Qualified
Students completing the Higher Education Award in Pastoral Care/Chaplaincy in Schools can apply for the Get Qualified Scheme, which will enable them to benefit from a tax credit of 70% of the costs incurred (i.e., €245 will be refunded for this course).
  • Full qualification at MQF Level 6 or higher. Kindly submit a copy of your highest qualification in the application form below.
  • Proficiency in English and/or Maltese language
  • Basic digital competencies (able to do research)
  • Expressed interest in Pastoral Care and/or chaplaincy in state or non-state schools

Applicants who do not meet these requirements may be refunded if deemed ineligible for the course.

For courses offered in face-to-face learning and blended learning, it is required that applicants reside in the Maltese islands and use their Maltese address in their application form.

For further information regarding visa requirements, see Identity Malta’s VISA requirements for third-country nationals.

Training Sample

12/08/2021   Cahtolic Institute

This is a sample training page.

Those who are currently involved or who desire to get training on ______________.

Modules:

CodeModuleValue
PFI1000Introduction to Training2 ECTS

Module 1 – Title

Lecturers: various

SessionDatesTimes
In-personXXth Month 202109:00 – 13:00

A mix of assessment methods will be employed to allow for different learning styles. They include:

Assessment: 

  • Modules 1

Final Award: 

Duration: 

  • Contact hours –
  • Supervised Placement and Practice Hours –
  • Self-Study Hours –
  • Assessment Hours –

Certification: 

*To obtain a Certificate of Achievement a student must; Attend a minimum of 70% of each module and Pass successfully the assignment

Award Institution: Pastoral Formation Institute

Teaching Institution: Pastoral Formation Institute, in collaboration with the Salesian Family, and the MCYN (Malta Catholic Youth Network)

Applicants must be in possession of: