When Don Pigi was first appointed as pastor of Sant’Eustorgio parish (Italy), only 12% of parishioners attended Sunday mass. Don Pigi felt discouraged and trapped in routine, unable to connect meaningfully with his parish community.
This changed when he learned about the parish renewal happening at St. Boniface in Florida under Fr. Michel Eivers. St. Boniface had thriving parish evangelization cells – small groups meeting weekly in members’ homes for prayer, sharing life experiences, and growing in faith.
Don Pigi realized engaging lay people in evangelization efforts was key to revitalizing his parish.
Don Pigi introduced the cell model in his paris after training lay leaders. The cells focused on fostering a personal relationship with Jesus, praying, supporting each other, and sharing faith within one’s daily life and networks.
Cell members were encouraged to be “fishers of men”, witnessing through actions and sharing how Christ changed their lives. The cells multiplied as members invited others. They remained connected to the broader parish through structured leadership links.
Don Pigi transformed the parish into a welcoming, Spirit-led community where people could experience and share God’s love. Yet he knew renewing the community required more than just small groups. He provided continual training to members on prayer, caring for others, and bearing witness. He wanted the community to move beyond head knowledge and have a living faith borne of personal encounter with Christ. This required ongoing experiences of God through prayer, scripture, sacraments, and service. Faith is caught more than taught.
Don Pigi taught that true evangelization comes from modeling God’s mercy and testifying to how Jesus has concretely impacted one’s life. It is an invitation to relationship, not merely convincing arguments. Those transformed by Christ can transform others.
Through adoration, parish cells and a focus on evangelization, Sant’Eustorgio parish was renewed as members supported each other in living and sharing a vibrant faith.
Find out more about parish evangelizing cells
Parish Evangelizing Cells in St. Boniface Parish
Pierre-Alain Giffard
Other articles on evangelization and parish revitalization:
- Creating Vibrant Faith Communities: Insights from ‘Excellent Catholic Parishes’
- Sharing The Gospel According to People’s Needs And Receptivity
- A Prayer for Inviting Others to Evangelization Meetings and Services
- Welcoming Church Guests and Visitors: Dos and Don’ts
- Various Dimensions of Evangelization
- The True Measure of Success
- Pope Francis on Evangelization
- Revitalizing the Rural Parish for Mission
- Factors Leading to Christian Conversion
- Evangelizing Through Random Acts of Kindness
- Questions To Start Spiritual Conversations
- Three Feet From Gold
- Spreading the Gospel One Act at a Time
- Gather, Witness and Invite
- Prayer to Receive the Spiritual Gifts of The Holy Spirit
- The Language of Evangelization
- Key Factors for Parish Growth According to Rich Birch
- How to defeat Satan?
- Bringing Love, Hope and Healing Through the Gospel
- Love: Our Fundamental Vocation
- Touched by the Master
- A Man, a Dog, and the Ultimate Love
- The essence of evangelization: Loving God and our neighbours
- Loving Our Enemies and Reconciling with Others
- A Powerful Prayer for Healing: You Are The LORD Who Heals Me
- Living a Life of Love: Mother Teresa’s Legacy
- Living a Life of Love: Lessons from the New Testament
- In The Shadows Of Darkness, A Powerful Force Is At Work
- 19 Pastoral Orientations for Parish Renewal and Growth
- The Missionary Renewal of Catechesis
- Characteristics of missionary parishes
- Powerful healing prayer attributed to St. Padre Pio
- We are called to share our faith with others
- Should we seek to grow the Church?
- Find a Need and Fill It – Revealing God’s Heart in the Community
- 15 Habits to Evangelize on a Daily Basis
- The Church’s Mission
- Three Barriers to Building An Invitational Culture In Your Parish
- The Relational Evangelizer
- Doing Church at Home
- The Blind Girl
- A Group of Frogs
- The Elephant Rope
- A Shared Faith is a Growing Faith
- In The Shoes Of The Unchurched
- Parish Evangelizing Cells
- Six Unique Features of Missional Parishes
- Steps Towards Becoming A Missional Parish
- What Is Evangelization, And How Should It Be Carried Out?
- Discussion And Self-Assessment Questions For Parish Evangelization
- A Missional Church Is A Church That Prays
- The Jesus Prayer: A Method To Pray At All Times
- What can help children raised Catholic continue practicing the faith as adults?
- An Example of a Missionary Parish: Phoenix First Assembly of God
- Satan’s Tactics
- Learning to Be a Missionary
- When we cry out to God, he answers
- Presence and Proclamation
- Saving those who are lost
- Saint-Nazaire Parish: The story of a missionary transformation
- Small Groups and Evangelization
- Evangelizing By Inviting People To Receive Jesus As Lord And Saviour
- You Will Receive Power…
- Have You Heard About the Law of Three Hearings and Seven Touches?
- Three Habits of a Fruitful Christian Life
