For generations, the Church has faced the same challenge: how to pass on the Catholic Faith in a way that truly forms disciples. Educators teach faithfully and with care, yet in a busy, distracted world, many students finish religious education without knowing how to live the Faith as their own. The gap between learning about the Faith and living it remains.

The Church has long called for the answer—returning to the living sources of Scripture, Tradition, and the Liturgy, and fully integrating evangelization with catechesis. That vision has been clear, but unmet. Until now.

The overwhelming response to the Bible in a Year podcast and our Bible and Catechism resources revealed an opportunity for Ascension to bring Scripture and Tradition together, ushering in a new era of evangelizing catechesis. Pillars of Faith is a K-8 curriculum that weaves the Bible and the Catechism together and
leads students beyond the classroom into a lasting encounter with Jesus Christ.

It’s a curriculum years in the making, built on Ascension’s experience developing innovative, effective, and trusted faith formation resources. Through Pillars of Faith, we aim to help renew the Church’s mission to form disciples who encounter the love and person of Jesus Christ.

Yes, Pillars of Faith can be used by individual families and by homeschool programs and co-ops that offer religious education. This includes access to all curriculum-related digital resources in the Ascension app that are normally available to schools and parishes.

For individual families, we suggest using the Teacher’s Guide along with the Student Workbook, videos, and other digital materials. Most homeschoolers teach religious education daily, and the Teacher's Guide divides lesson objectives into five days, and includes extension activities.

For homeschoolers looking for flexibility or have a different teaching schedule, the Catechist’s Guide includes all the core content, but does not divide each lesson objective into separate days.

Student Workbook: Each child should have their own Student Workbook so they can complete their assignments individually. Select the grade-level workbook that best matches each child's learning level.

Teacher's Guide or Catechist's Guide: If you want to teach religion 4-5 days a week, we recommend using the Teacher's Guide as that divides each lesson objective into 5 days. Select the Catechist's Guide for a more flexible approach. Once you have decided which Guide to use, you will want to purchase the grade-level version that matches that of your child's workbook.

Purchasing a guide includesa free copy of the Young Beginner's Bible and Catechism, so your child can have those resources readily available.

Grades K–2 will be available for the 2026–2027 school year. This includes:

• Teacher’s Guide for schools and Catechist’s Guide for parishes
• Student Workbook (for both parishes and schools)
• Videos and additional resources via the web-based Ascension app
• Optional: The Great Adventure Catholic Bible for Young Beginners, Classroom Edition and The Ascension Catechism for Young Beginners, Classroom Edition

Grades 3–8 will be released over the subsequent years starting in 2027, allowing children in grades K–2 to continue their faith formation journey with Ascension. We will announce each new grade-level release in advance to ensure shipments arrive before each school year.

Yes, the new Bibles and Catechisms are each a set of three books. Level I is the Young Beginners version that aligns with K–2. Level II is the Beginners version that aligns with grades 3–5. Level III is the Youth version that aligns with grades 6–8. Please see the FAQ for the new series of Great Adventure Bibles and Ascension Catechisms for K–8 to learn more.

While the Great Adventure Bible for Young Beginners and Ascension’s Catechism for Young Beginners are integrated with every lesson of Pillars of Faith, they are not required for purchase with the curriculum. We recommend that students have their own copies—especially beginning in 1st grade—but it is not necessary.
Catechists and teachers, however, should have at least one copy of each for classroom use. Both are included with the purchase of a Catechist’s Guide or Teacher’s Guide.

The Pillars of Faith digital resources can be accessed through the web-based version of the Ascension app (app.ascensionpress.com). Parents, teachers, catechists, and administrators can access the web-based app on a tablet, laptop, or desktop computer. There is no paid subscription required; to access the web-based app one just needs to create a login.

Anyone needing religious education materials can purchase Pillars of Faith. The prices for each component are:

• Student Workbook: $26.95
• Teacher’s Guide: $69.95*
• Catechist’s Guide: $69.95*

*The price for the Teacher’s Guide and Catechist’s Guide includes a free copy of The Great Adventure Catholic Bible for Young Beginners, Classroom Edition and The Ascension Catechism for Young Beginners, Classroom Edition. This is a great bundle value of $120.

Only adults will be issued app access, which includes teachers, catechists, parents, and any administrator at a school, parish, or diocese. Parents can share app resources with their children.

eBook versions will be available for the Catechist’s Guide and Teacher’s Guide. DVDs will also be available that include all of the lesson videos, as well as those for catechists, teachers, and parents.

Digital sample books for Grade 1 are currently available HERE. Grades K and 2 will be available by the end of April 2026. For printed versions, please reach out to the Sales Manager for Parishes or Schools. These sample books include:

• An overview of the program and its components
• Lesson structure and features
• Scope & Sequence At-a-Glance and the grade-level TOC
• A complete sample lesson that includes pages from the Student Workbook, Catechist’s Guide, and Teacher’s Guide
• An overview the children’s Bible and Catechism
• Sample section from the Level 1 Bible
• Sample section from the Level 1 Catechism

Yes, bilingual student workbooks will be available for the fall of 2027. Spanish Catechist Guides will also be available for the fall of 2027, and the Catechist training videos will be dubbed in Spanish.

Pillars of Faith includes everything needed to teach and prepare students to receive the Sacraments of First Reconciliation and First Communion. Ascension’s Renewed and Received are standalone sacramental preparation programs and remain available as separate purchases; they can also be used alongside Pillars of
Faith. It is common–and the norm–for publishers to offer both a comprehensive K–8 curriculum with sacramental preparation built in and standalone immediate-prep programs.

Curriculum components for K–2, including the Great Adventure Catholic Bible for Young Beginners and The Ascension Catechism for Young Beginners, are available for pre-order. Components will ship as they become available, which may result in multiple shipments.

Once an order is placed, a confirmation email will be sent with order details, as well as additional email confirmations for each component with estimated ship dates. Once an item ships, an email will be sent with tracking information. Any changes to shipment dates will be communicated. If an item is delayed until after
the school year begins, please reach out to customer support.

The curriculum is currently under review by the USCCB to be added to the conformity list. We anticipate a smooth review process and approval by the time the curriculum is available for Fall 2026.

The curriculum has been submitted for ecclesiastical review and imprimatur to the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. We anticipate a smooth review process and approval by the time the curriculum is available for Fall 2026.

Pre-orders for all the curriculum components for grades K-2 can be placed through the Pillars of Faith ordering page: https://ascensionpress.com/pages/pillars-of-faith-k-8-curriculum-ordering/

Simply enter in the quantity of items needed, click Add to Cart, and complete the order. A confirmation email will be sent, along with additional confirmation of each pre-order item including anticipated shipping dates.

To learn more about The Great Adventure Catholic Bible for Young Beginners, please visit www.ascensionpress.com/pages/bibles-and-catechisms-k-8 or review our Frequently Asked Questions.

To learn more about The Ascension Catechism for Young Beginners, please visit www.ascensionpress.com/pages/bibles-and-catechisms-k-8 or review our Frequently Asked Questions.