Eligibility

•  A registered youth member of the Boy Scouts of America of the Catholic faith.
• Has started ninth grade.
• Designed for age 15-16 year old, but all registered Venturers (male or female before their 21^st birthday) and all registered Boy Scouts (in high school, before their 18^th birthday) are eligible.

Purpose

• Pope Pius XII is Catholic Scouting's church-related ministries and vocation program.
• The program deals with different life choices (single, married, religious, ordained), occupations and ministries in the church as calls from God.
• It includes youth led discussions on current issues facing the church and society, which are normally included as part of a Pius XII retreat or day of recollection

Requirements

• Ideal group size is 4-12, but the course may be run with smaller groups.
• The program should be run by the candidates themselves, the adult serves as a Moderator
• A number of interviews and an investigation of a controversial issue facing the church or society are integral to the program
• A retreat experience, ideally centered on the Pius XII program itself and a ministries service project are required

Program Completion

• Complete requirements for all units in Pope Pius XII Religious Emblem Scout Manual
• Pass a Pope Pius XII Board of Review
• Pope Pius XII Board of Review is made up of former Pope Pius XII recipients with adult leaders acting in an advisory and supervisory capacity.

Presentation

• Ideally, the religious emblem will be presented to the Scout at the annual Youth Recognition Ceremony held in the (arch) diocese/eparchy each year.
• The religious knot should be presented at a unit ceremony.

Moderator’s Role

• A Moderator should have the same attributes as those of a counselor described in the Ad Altare Emblem
• A Moderator needs to be approved according to guidelines established by the (Arch) diocesan/ eparchial Catholic Committee on Scouting.
• Moderators must have current BSA Youth Protection Training, unless the local diocese (Eparchy) requires other specific youth protection training or certification
• Use the Moderator Guide
• Form the group
• Act as Moderator, not group leaders
• Help the candidate focus on essential elements and important issues

Scout's Role

• As an older Scout/Venturer, the candidate is expected to actively share in group discussions and complete all interviews and activities.

Parent's Role

• Support and encourage their youth’s participation in the program.

Suggested Time Requirements

• It is suggested that the group meet for nine to twelve sessions. As the youth are older, two hour sessions seem to work well, and flexibility is often required in scheduling sessions and interview feed back’s.

Sections/Goals

• Unit I – "In the beginning": To examine the individual’s I have chosen to associate with, and to explain the implications of those choices.
• Unit II – "God and You" : To explore what it means to be called by God through the Sacraments of Initiation, and how these calls continue to affect my life
• Unit III – "Life Choices": To examine and discover various "life states" to which God may be calling me
• Unit IV – "9 to 5": To examine various professions or occupations, and seek to discover the ones to which God may be calling me
• Unit V "Here I am": To examine various ministries, and seek to discover ones to which God might be calling me
• Unit VI - "A melting Pot": To examine the Church’s definition of vocation and how it and God’s call intertwine in an individual’s daily life through life state, occupation and ministry
• Unit VII – "Putting it all together": To aid the participants in a realization that our faith and call from God affect our daily life and how our daily life affects our faith and call from God