Religious Education

Registration for the 2019-2020 year is now open.  Please click on the blue button below to begin registration for all grades.

• Late Fee:  After June 30th, a $50 late fee will apply
• Financial Assistance:  If your family requires financial assistance this year, please contact the parish office (860-658-7627) before registering.
• Catechists: We look forward to working with you in the year ahead.  Please contact the parish office (parishoffice@stmarysimsbury.org) for your 2019 registration discount code.

Kathy Piggott (Grades 1-6)
Hello St. Mary’s Parishioners!My name is Kathy Piggott, and I am excited to begin this year as your new Religious Education Coordinator for grades 1-6! I have been involved in Religious Education for about 18 years. My experience includes Youth Ministry/Confirmation, Adult Education and Children’s Education assistant at St. Teresa Parish in Manchester. For the past 7 years, I have been a Director of Faith Formation at St. Josephine Bakhita Parish in Rocky Hill.

I settled in Connecticut from Madawaska, Maine 33 years ago to marry my husband of 32 years. We have raised 4 wonderful children in Manchester and have the added blessing of our son-in-law and our first grandson, born on June 22. My husband, Dave, and I have strived to be examples of faith to our children and look forward to watching our family grow.

My experiences in raising my family and being part of faith formation have been profound. I have been blessed to serve in this ministry and know I will have many wonderful experiences in faith within the community of St. Mary Parish. The week of July 1 will be the beginning of my ministry at St. Mary’s. Please feel free to reach out and introduce yourselves!

Lori Ryan (Grades 7-8)
My name is Lori Ryan, and I will be coordinating Religious Education for grades 7-8. I grew up in Waterford, where I attended St. Paul in Chains Church and I received my Sacraments, including the Sacrament of Matrimony to Jeff Ryan almost 34 years ago. Jeff and I met while attending UCONN. After marrying and moving to Simsbury, I worked at CIGNA as a pension administrator and eventually led a team. I enjoyed my work at Cigna, however, God had different plans for me. I left after my second child was born to be home with my children. Jeff and I have four children: Megan, Matthew, Michael and Grace.

We attended St. Bernard’s Church in Tariffville. One Sunday, our Deacon made a plea for help with CCD. He asked us to pray about it, and if we felt peace, to sign up. That is just what I did. I taught eighth graders at St. Bernard’s for 24 years. After a couple of years of teaching, the Religious Ed Coordinator asked if I would take over the CCD program. I went home and prayed on it, and I ran the program for 22 years.

In between coordinating St. Bernard’s CCD program and raising four children, I started a small home business called First Impressions Home Staging, which I ran for about a decade. I helped homeowners prepare their homes for resale, and I did some interior design. I am honored to serve as St. Bernard’s liaison to the Parish Council and excited about the role I will be playing in forming 7th and 8th graders at St. Mary’s Church.

Steve DiMotta (Grades 9-10 & Youth Minister)
My name is Steve DiMotta. I have been working in the field of Youth Ministry and Religious Education for over 13 years. I began my career after high school as an assistant youth minister in East Hartford, then was hired as the youth minister for a parish in Manchester. While continuing this ministry, I was also hired as the director of religious education and youth ministry for a parish in New Haven. After 5 years in New Haven I was offered a program director position at Trinita Retreat Center in New Hartford, and I will continue at Trinita along with youth ministry and confirmation at St. Mary’s. My wife, Jaime, and I have lived in Rocky Hill since we were married 12 years ago, along with our 2 dogs Mattie and Molly and our turtle Franklin. We love to go hiking and kayaking when we have time.

Our Sunday Religious Education programs are always bustling with energy and excitement! It is a wonderful place to experience faith through the eyes of children and teens and the joy of partnering with their parents on this formative journey. Thanks to over 60 dedicated catechists, students are welcomed and engaged each week as they are presented the doctrine, scripture and tradition of our faith.   

Religious Education Volunteers:

We greatly appreciate your willingness to volunteer your help during the year and count on it for the success of our program! Please contact our Religious Education Coordinators to express your interest in volunteering in our program.

To ensure a safe environment for the children in our program, Virtus Training is required by the Archdiocese of Hartford for volunteers who are 18 years of age and older.  Training classes are offered at various locations in the diocese for your convenience. Please click on the link below to vist the Archdiocese of Hartford Office of Safe Environment website for the date and location of upcoming classes.

Virtus - Registration/Schedules

For more information, contact our parish Virtus Coordinator, Mrs. Michelle Howard, at Saint Mary's School at (860)-658-9412.

Our elementary grade program is for children who will enter first through sixth grade in the fall. The program is located at Saint Mary's School on Sunday mornings and runs from September through May.

There are two separate sessions offered.  During the registration process, please indicate your preference of session.

• Session 1 :  8:15 AM - 9:20 AM

The Middle School and High School programs run on alternating Sunday evenings at St. Mary's School from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. Students gather with their small groups and catechists from September through May.