Bishop Joseph Strickland of the diocese of Tyler, Texas is renowned for his stalwart faith in the midst of brutal attacks on the Church, as well as his creativity and fidelity in responding to them.
One response to such attacks is the bishop’s St. Philip Institute of Catechesis and Evangelization, an online resource center dedicated to teaching the Faith “with the fervor of first-century Christians … with reverence for the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist” through essays, videos, podcasts and more.
The institute is named after St. Philip, one of the evangelizers of the early Church. The Acts of the Apostles describes how an angel guided St. Philip to Gaza where he met an Ethiopian man sitting in a chariot reading the words of the prophet Isaiah. When Philip asked the man if he understood what he was reading, the man replied: “How can I unless someone guides me?” (8:29–31). The Ethiopian man invited St. Philip into the chariot, and Philip shared the good news of Christ which resulted in the man being baptized and rejoicing in the salvation of Jesus.
In the interview below, Bp. Strickland explained to Church Militant how the St. Philip Institute is “growing by leaps and bounds” and how “in these dark times people need real hope and real joy,” something the center is providing.