Adapting to a Changing World: The Oblate Academy’s Virtual Outreach for Families
In an increasingly fast-paced and digitally connected world, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate have found innovative ways to stay true to their mission while meeting the needs of today’s families. Through the Oblate Academy, the Oblates provide families with meaningful and accessible resources that guide the spiritual development of children, ensuring that the next generation can grow in faith, virtue, and service to others.
The Oblate Academy’s journey began in April 2020, during the global lockdown, when children could no longer attend their traditional formation classes. The world was uncertain about how long the lockdowns would last, and parents, many of whom were donors, urgently needed resources to continue their children’s Catholic formation. It was in this moment of need that the first email was sent. This was the culmination of a concept first developed in 2013 by two direct marketing team members in San Antonio, Texas, who had begun gathering content and shaping the vision. The pandemic’s sudden onset gave the Academy an unexpected launch, marking the beginning of a new way for families to stay spiritually connected.
In 2024, the Oblate Academy expanded its curriculum to include summer formation, a new initiative that allows the program to run year-round. This ensures that families continue to have access to age-appropriate spiritual formation for their children, even during the typically slower summer months when traditional faith programs pause. By offering year-round engagement, the Oblates help families remain connected to their spiritual journey and continue teaching their children about faith, no matter the season.
Each month, the Academy provides resources centered on a different saint and the Christian virtue they exemplified. These resources are designed for children ages 3-10 and include activity sheets, coloring pages, teaching tips, and practical suggestions for how to incorporate the month’s virtue into everyday life. The aim is to make the stories of the saints accessible and engaging, so that parents and caregivers can share them meaningfully with young children. The saints serve as timeless role models of virtues such as kindness, courage, humility, and faith, and the Academy’s materials help bring these qualities to life in fun, practical ways.
The introduction of summer formation in 2024 ensures that the momentum built during the school year continues through the summer. It provides families with a seamless transition between seasons, avoiding gaps in religious education and keeping faith vibrant at home. With year-round resources, the Academy helps families remain engaged, supporting the ongoing spiritual development of children without interruption.
The flexibility of the Oblate Academy is one of its most valuable features. Many families juggle work, school, and other commitments, leaving little time for extra activities. Parents, grandparents, and caregivers can engage with the Academy’s resources at their own pace, fitting them into their schedules without feeling overwhelmed. The program’s digital nature makes it highly convenient, allowing families to access materials from home and download them as needed. Whether it’s a quick activity sheet before bed or a more in-depth lesson on a saint and virtue, families can use the resources in whatever way suits their lifestyle.
This flexibility is especially crucial for families who are physically distant from local faith communities or who lack access to traditional church-based religious education programs. The Oblate Academy bridges this gap by offering accessible online resources, allowing families to continue their faith formation at home. With this digital outreach, the Oblates can serve families across the country and around the world, sharing their mission of education and evangelization with anyone who has an internet connection.
In addition to spiritual formation, the Oblate Academy helps families teach the importance of service and compassion. The saints provide numerous examples of living out one’s faith through action—whether it’s helping the poor, the sick, or the marginalized. The Academy emphasizes this missionary spirit, encouraging families to not only learn about the virtues of the saints but to live them out in daily life. By engaging in acts of kindness or service, families learn to practice the virtues in ways that have a positive impact on their communities.
The Oblate Academy also reflects the broader mission of the Oblates, who are dedicated to evangelization and serving others. While the Oblates are renowned for their work in mission fields around the world, they are equally committed to supporting families in the home. Understanding that the foundation of the Church lies in the domestic church, the Academy helps parents and caregivers take an active role in raising children rooted in faith and virtue.
The Oblates’ commitment to service, education, and evangelization is evident in the Academy’s approach, which is expanding to include a standalone website. This site will serve as a one-stop shop for a variety of resources, including content on the virtues, saints, activity sheets, prayers, the Order of the Mass, how to pray the rosary, Bible stories, and more. Future additions will include the history of the Oblates and bios of Oblate missionaries, especially the Fathers of Courage who have worked tirelessly serving the poor and most abandoned throughout the world, as well as daily affirmations for children.
One of the key benefits of the program is that it remainsfree to the public, available via the website and promoted through Facebook ads that encourage parents to sign up and receive the emails. These efforts have yielded surprisingly positive results, with many families opting into the program and benefiting from its resources.
The future of the Oblate Academy holds great promise, as it continues to adapt to the needs of families today while remaining grounded in the mission of the Oblates. By integrating a year-round approach to faith formation, they help families nurture spiritual growth, strengthen their own faith, and serve others. In a world that is constantly changing, the Oblate Academy provides a reliable and meaningful way for families to live out their faith, bringing the message of the Gospel to homes around the world.