Contact: Rev. Geno Sylva, S.T.D., 973-377-1004

MADISON, N.J., Dec. 2, 2010 /Christian Newswire/ -- "The essential mission of the Catholic Church is evangelization," said Rev. Geno Sylva, S.T.D., Executive Director of St. Paul Inside the Walls Catholic Center, and Vicar for Evangelization for the Diocese of Paterson, New Jersey. "St. Paul Inside the Walls is a one-of-a-kind center facilitating that mission by offering programs and events that provide the faithful with the necessary tools to move our Church from a mindset of maintenance, to that of mission."

Brought forth from the vision of Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli, S.T.D., S.S.L., D.D., St. Paul Inside the Walls serves as a unifying force within the Diocese of Paterson. Housed on the former campus of Bayley-Ellard High School in Madison, N.J., the sprawling former mansion and school building underwent extensive renovations in the two years prior to the September 2010 dedication. The Center has since launched 43 training and outreach programs, including those for catechists and parents of children with autism, for Catholic grandparents, for Catholics in recovery, and a Diaconate training program.

"St. Paul Inside the Walls is really a halfway house for God, and a clearing house for ministries," said Rev. Sylva. "We study society and then devise creative ways to engage people where they are in life. Whether through a program that celebrates the Catholic tradition of communicating God's love through art and music, through an outreach to homeschooling families, or through a healing ministry for post-abortive women, the goal is to invite individuals into a deeper relationship with Christ."

A unique aspect of the Center has been its mission of ministry training through evangelization. "By training individuals for God's work through the optic of evangelization, they -- and in turn, their parishes -- become more alive with the vibrancy that comes from inserting the Gospel teachings into everyday life," said Rev. Sylva. "By gathering Catholic medical professionals, lawyers, and business leaders, and sharing pertinent Catholic teachings with them, American Culture will be transformed. The Center helps Catholics to recognize that they must courageously bring the Gospel into contemporary culture. As Bishop Serratelli says, 'a church that is not growing, is dying.'

"As Catholics, we must recognize and respond in faithful, yet dynamic ways to the ever changing challenges in our society," Rev. Sylva continued. "St. Paul Inside the Walls is entering into that mission field, proposing the beauty of our Catholic faith to a world in desperate need of Truth."

For more information on St. Paul Inside the Walls, visit: www.insidethewalls.org.