Archbishop Bernard Hebda’s 2022 pastoral letter, “You Will Be My Witnesses: Gathered and Sent From the Upper Room,” called for ways to inform and inspire parents to be the primary educators of their children in ways of the faith.
A ministry of Pro Ecclesia Sancta (PES) has been serving and growing in that evangelical field in Minnesota and other states for the last several years.
“Everyone is called to holiness, but sometimes families can get distracted from this mission because of the busyness of life and work, as well as the presence of media and screens,” said PES Sister Leann Luecke, one of eight Minnesota-based religious sisters in the ecclesial family of consecrated life founded in 1992 in Lima, Peru. “So, about four years ago, we felt called to respond to that in a certain way.”
That was when Sister Leann and her fellow PES sisters in Minnesota began Holy Kids ministry, which provides resources, especially for parents, religion teachers, faith formation directors, catechists and others who are eager to help form young members of the Church in the faith while helping them develop a personal relationship with God.
Holy Kids seeks to join the new evangelization by sharing the Catholic faith with children and families in joyful and dynamic ways so that children can respond to the universal call to be holy, Sister Leann said.
“Holy Kids started with videos that we make for kids to teach them the core teachings of the Catholic faith,” Sister Leann said. “These videos are intended to bring the faith alive for kids and bring the faith into the home, where parents and kids can watch them together and share in learning about the faith. The videos are very dynamic and engaging for the little ones, but then also provide … deeper content for the older kids. We receive a lot of feedback from the families, with many parents saying they are learning things they may not have known about our faith. Some families don’t feel like they have the resources, or don’t know how to start those conversations of the faith in the home. We want to provide the opportunities and resources through our Holy Kids ministry.”
David and Bridget Busacker were first introduced to Pro Ecclesia Sancta through a weekly Holy Hour at the PES convent in St. Paul, designed for those seeking to grow closer to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, deepen their holiness, and join the lay movement of PES, the Catholic Advance Movement.
“We were immediately drawn to the sincere joy and love of the Sacred Heart that radiated from PES members, and when we were married in 2016, we officially joined the movement,” said Bridget Busacker, who shared her family’s story.
The Busackers and their children (Felicity, 5; Stella, 3; and Marigold, 1), attend St. Peter in Mendota. “Our desire to grow in holiness and serve God through our marriage was met with incredible support from PES, and when Holy Kids was developed a few years ago, we were thrilled to integrate it into our family life,” Busacker said.
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See a new, introductory video.
Learn more about Holy Kids ministry.
Send an email via info@beholykids.org to ask questions.
Even though the Busackers’ children were still very young at the time (their eldest was 2), the couple found the Holy Kids program to be an invaluable resource.
“As parents, we know we are called to be the primary educators of our children in the faith, but in today’s world, that can feel overwhelming,” Bridget Busacker said. “There is an abundance of information available –– much of it wonderful –– but it can be difficult to know where to start, how to guide our children effectively, and how to integrate faith into daily life,” Busacker said. “This is where Holy Kids is such a gift. It provides clear, engaging, and theologically rich content that helps us build up our domestic Church.”
Holy Kids empowers parents to transform the culture, beginning in their own homes, by making Jesus present in their everyday lives, Busacker said.
“These videos have been an incredible tool in helping my husband and me respond to our call to educate our children in the faith,” she said. “They make catechesis approachable and meaningful, sparking deeper conversations and encouraging our girls to ask questions, reflect on holiness, and understand what it truly means to be a saint in the small, ordinary moments of family life.”
One of the most powerful aspects of Holy Kids is how it keeps the focus on a personal relationship with God, she said.
“These videos don’t just teach information –– they inspire a deeper desire for holiness and sainthood in a way that is accessible to children and parents alike,” Busacker said. “They help us introduce the faith in a way that is both engaging and accessible for little ones while also equipping us as parents with the language and tools to share the love of Jesus and the teachings of the Catholic Church in a meaningful way,” she said. “They help us, as a family, to live out our faith in an intentional and joyful way.”A beautiful fruit of the Holy Kids videos has been the way they continue to inspire conversation well beyond the screen, Busacker said.
“We’ll be at Mass or in our home, and something will spark a connection to what they learned from Holy Kids. These moments help solidify their understanding of the faith and, more importantly, their relationship with Jesus,” she said.
Recently, Busacker pointed to the image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in their home and asked her girls, “What does Jesus’ heart tell you? What does he mean with his heart right there?” Without hesitation, her 3-year-old said, “He loves me!” Her 5-year-old, after a moment of thought, added, “He just loves me and wants to give me a big bear hug!”
“This is exactly what Holy Kids does — it helps our children build a deep, personal relationship with Jesus,” Busacker said. “It encourages them to see him not as a distant figure, but as someone who is truly alive in their hearts, inviting them into a life of holiness. We regularly talk about how we want to be saints, and Holy Kids has been instrumental in cultivating that desire in our home.”
Erin Wee, a homeschooling mom of Felicity, 8; Maccallin, 7; Elizabeth, 5; Bernadette, 3; and Frederick, 1, who attend St. John the Baptist in Savage, said that looking back, she and her husband, David, knew about the Holy Kids program before they fully realized what it was.
“During 2020, one of the sisters mentioned the videos to us and we spent some time watching them with our kids while being home together so much (during the pandemic),” Erin Wee said. “Then, while attending a Holy Hour at the convent, our oldest daughter was invited to be in one of the videos. We probably watched that video 100 times the week it came out. Now the kids are really invested and they love seeing ‘their Sisters’ in the videos.”
Wee stressed that the mission of Holy Kids has been, and always will be, to bring more souls to Christ.
“God designed the family as a perfect place for children to come to know him. Holy Kids helps parents navigate our faith in a way that inspires children, a difficult task in our world today,” Wee said. “It is a perfect supplement to ignite a fire for Christ in the home and to begin conversations about our faith around the dinner table.”
Her children experience Holy Kids content anytime the family attends events with the Catholic Advance Movement, Wee said.
“The sisters do such a fabulous job engaging the kids in our faith while the parents listen to spiritual talks,” she said. “The short retreats act almost like a mini-Holy Kids camp. We are a homeschooling family so having Holy Kids video(s) as reference material is fantastic. We aspire to keep faith at the center of our home and Holy Kids really has a way of inviting kids into the conversation.”
In addition to families using the Holy Kids videos in their home, parishes are using the videos during their faith formation programs. In Minnesota, the PES sisters serve four parishes and schools –– St. Mark in St. Paul, St. John the Baptist in Savage, Nativity of Mary in Bloomington, and Our Lady of Grace in Edina. PES sisters in other dioceses also share the Holy Kids videos as much as they can in their ministries.
PRO ECCLESIA SANCTA
Founded in 1992 in Lima, Peru, by Father Pablo Menor, a Spanish Jesuit priest, Pro Ecclesia Sancta has sisters, brothers and priests serving in a variety of ways throughout Minnesota, California, Michigan and South Dakota, bringing the love of the Sacred Heart to others.
Pro Ecclesia Sancta (PES) began its ministry in the United States in California in 2005. The order expanded into Minnesota in 2009, followed by South Dakota in 2021 and Michigan in 2023. The PES sisters, brothers and priests work with youth and families in parishes, schools, colleges and diocesan programs.
During the summer of 2024, PES orchestrated a mission trip to Peru with volunteers from across the globe, including youth from the Twin Cities, Sioux Falls and Mitchell in South Dakota and Sacramento.
As one of the order’s growing mission programs, Holy Kids is designed to ignite the fire of God’s love in the hearts of children, while planting seeds of faith in the next generation of Christ’s disciples.
Learn more about Pro Ecclesia Sancta.
All photos: COURTESY PRO ECCLESIA SANCTA
