November 2025
Happy Jubilee Year, 2025! Welcome to the Catholic Committee on Scouting (CCS) webpage for the Archdiocese of Miami (ADOM), facilitating Catholic Scouting for Girl Scouts and Scouting America in Broward, Miami-Dade, and Monroe Counties.
Pilgrimage in the Jubilee Year: The Catholic Committee on Scouting encourages scout families to continue pilgrimages to each of six sites identified by the archdiocese for this Jubilee Year. Pilgrimage sites include:
- National Shrine of Our Lady of Charity (La Ermita)
3609 South Miami Avenue, Coconut Grove - Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea
1010 Windsor Lane, Key West - Shrine of Our Lady of Schoenstatt
22800 SW 187th Avenue, Homestead - St. Clement Church
2975 North Andrews Avenue, Wilton Manors - Our Lady of Guadalupe Church
11691 NW 25th Street, Doral - St. Mary Cathedral
7525 NW 2nd Avenue, Miami
The Jubilee Year will conclude with the Epiphany of the Lord on January 6th. Visit https://www.miamiarch.org/CatholicDiocese.php?op=Article_archdiocese-of-miami-pilgrims-of-hope-in-the-jubilee-year-2025 and https://nccs-bsa.org/download/faith-series-2025-jubilee-religious-activity to read more about this jubilee year and activity.
An American-born Pope: On May 8th, Cardinal Robert Prevost was elected the 266th Successor of Saint Peter, taking the name Leo XIV. Pope Leo was a Cub Scout in his youth while growing up in Chicago. With support from the National Catholic Committee on Scouting (NCCS), today’s scouts can explore the role of the pope as Vicar of Christ and are encouraged to complete the activity while the election date ‘5-8-2025’ is printed on this activity patch. Visit https://nccs-bsa.org/download/Pope-Vicar-of-Christ for details. Be sure to notify the ADOM CCS so your scouts can be presented this recognition at the Catholic Scouting mass in the spring.
New Saints in the Church: On September 7, Pope Leo canonized two young saints: Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlos Acutis. In preparation for their canonization, the NCCS created religious activities for scouts to learn about each brother in Christ and to earn a patch. Visit https://nccs-bsa.org/download/Pier-Giorgio-Frassati and https://nccs-bsa.org/download/Carlo-Acutis for details. Be sure to notify the ADOM CCS so your scouts can be presented this recognition at the Catholic Scouting mass in the spring.
Religious Emblems: In the recent four months, scout leaders attended Catholic Scouting training to prepare themselves to serve as religious emblem coordinators and / or counselors for scouts in their parish and neighboring scout units. With training dates completed, scouts are being registered this month for an emblem program offered through the NCCS, ADOM CCS, and National Federation for Catholic Youth Ministry (NFCYM). The religious emblems provide scouts and their families a faith journey with Jesus and fellow scouts. To learn more about each emblem, visit the ‘Emblems’ tab at the top of this page. Program dates for those registered in an emblem program include:
- Scout Registration – November 15th
- Book Review – January 26th at St. Bartholomew Catholic Church
- Day of Recollection – April 11th at St. Timothy Catholic Church
- Retreat – April 24th – 26th at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park
- Catholic Scouting Presentation Mass – May 16th in St. Mary’s Cathedral (note the change in location).
College Scholarship Deadline is March 1st: The NCCS will award 14 scholarships next year. Visit https://nccs-bsa.org/college-scholarships for more information.
Adult and Unit Recognition Deadlines are April 1st: Unit leaders are encouraged to nominate their volunteers and units for recognition. Visit https://nccs-bsa.org/awards-recognitions for information; nominations are to be submitted to the ADOM CCS before the deadline.
Saint George Trek: They are sent forth in twos! Two scouts were endorsed by the ADOM CCS to attend the Saint George Trek next July at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. They will join approximately 70 scouts from diocese and eparchies across the country for an 11-day excursion led by priests, seminarians, and religious advisors. The ADOM CCS will be contributing toward their enrollment fee. Please remember Christopher Chao and Luca Savino in your prayers as they prepare and embark on this journey to discern their vocation to the priesthood and engagement in their home parishes.
Monthly Meetings: Monthly meetings occur on the 4th Mondays via Zoom unless otherwise noted:
- November 24th
- December 22nd
- January 26th – in person meeting for review of religious emblem handbooks.
- February 23rd
- March 23rd
- April 27th – this meeting may move to the retreat weekend (in person)
- May 25th – no meeting
I encourage you to incorporate these dates into your scouting calendar. Feel free to contact me at (502) 445-4728 or via e-mail at ADOMCatholicCommittee@gmail.com.
In God We Trust
Chris Zavatsky
Chair