Duc in Altum

Duc in Altum 2024
Parish registration and missionary recruitment for summer 2024 will open this Fall 2023.

What is Duc in Altum?
Duc in Altum (DIA) is a joint initiative between the Bismarck Diocese and the Diocese of Rapid City to bring affordable, effective catechetical summer camps to parishes. “Duc in Altum” is a latin phase meaning “put out into the deep” and is derived from Luke 5:4-11 when Jesus first encounters Simon Peter, and instructs him and his brother Andrew—after toiling all night in vain—to put down their nets for a final catch, which returns abundant fish. In a similar way, we aim to ask young catholic men and women to put down their nets for a summer of mission: serving, teaching and abiding with the parishes across the diocese in exchange for an abundant return of personal growth and a deepening of their relationship with Jesus Christ.

The program utilizes teams of four college-aged young men and women alive in the Catholic faith to instruct the youth by their teaching and witness. A camp will last for one week in the parish and will include catechetical instruction, games and skits, snacks, recess time and the sacraments. The camp includes two sessions per day, one for grades K-6, the other for grades 7-12. Curriculum is based on the catechism and the mysteries of the rosary. Parishes will be billed based off the number of registered families at the parish.

Interested in being a Duc in Altum missionary?
Duc in Altum is an excellent opportunity for college-aged men and women to serve on mission and meet a vital need in their own community here at home. A DIA missionary will spend the summer as part of a 2 men/ 2 women team of other striving young Catholics. They will travel from parish to parish together across the Diocese of Bismarck to provide necessary catechesis to children of every age. This catechesis will not be merely intellectual, but personal as the missionary serves as a living example of a life full of Christ. A daily schedule will include a holy hour, group rosary, communal Liturgy of the Hours (morning, evening, and night), and the Holy Mass in addition to their regular instruction duties. Every week will include five days instruction, one community day, and one day off. Missionaries will receive a generous weekly stipend, as well as food and lodging provided for the entire summer (late May—end of July). No fundraising is required. Anyone with a passion for education, actively discerning religious life and a heart for mission would make a great candidate. Missionaries must be 18 years or older and have been graduated from high school for a year.

To apply to be a DIA missionary, please complete the Missionary application form and email it to bottemoeller@bismarckdiocese.com or mail it to Bismarck Diocese, Attention: Catechesis and Youth, PO Box 1137, Bismarck ND 58502-1137. Applications are due May 1st.

For more information on Duc in Altum in the Bismarck Diocese, please contact Ben Ottemoeller at
701-204-7208 or bottemoeller@bismarckdiocese.com.