Frequently Asked Questions
What is The ITE Project?
The ITE Project is a community of young Catholic adults who seek to encounter the Body of Christ through intentional charity and spiritual growth. It is located in the Diocese of Cleveland and has served Akron and its surrounding communities since 2014. It is a legally recognized 501(c)3 non-profit.
How do you say /ITE/?
ITE is taken from the closing of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass in which the laity are commanded "Ite, missa est". This is roughly translated into "Go forth, the Mass is ended." It is the sending-- the command to take what we receive in the Mass into the world and serve as Christ as He serves.
Church Latin is pronounced /EE-tay/.
The vulgar Latin is pronounced /IT-tay/.
We gladly go by either.
Who is invited to attend ITE events?
Young adults in the 20s and 30s are the most frequent guests of The ITE Project. The average person is someone post-college age who is a working adult. We also see young parents in their late 20s with small children at our events.
What does The ITE Project do?
The ITE Project centers itself around encountering Christ through community. It achieves this through two annual retreats roughly six months apart, through its Works of Mercy each month, and through its formations like Adoremus and Fireside Chat with Father. It also hosts a variety of different kinds of socials designed with the heart of a mature young adult in mind.
What is a Work of Mercy, Adoremus and a Fireside Chat with Father?
The Works of Mercy are based on the corporal and spiritual works of mercy and happen nearly every month of the year. Some of our favorite perennials are passing out hundreds of roses at a local mall during the winter, hosting a clothing drive each summer, and praying for the dead in local cemeteries. Others have included hosting a baby shower for a disadvantaged mom, hosting a shopping spree for a local family that had lost their home to a fire, helping to prepare classrooms for a local Catholic school, and infinite other ways Christ calls us to serve.
Adoremus is a time of young adult contemplative prayer before the Blessed Sacrament. During this time of Adoration, the hosting priest also offers Confessions and we invite healing prayer teams to pray with those who desire it. We end our evening with Benediction and Compline (night prayer).
Fireside Chats with Father are times for young adults to gather communally and ask their most pressing questions on a specific topic to a trusted priest in a non judgmental environment. The hosting priest takes questions from the audience and many beautiful conversations begin about some of the harder precepts of our Faith and about the difficulties we face in the culture.
Are you affiliated with a specific parish?
We work in the Diocese of Cleveland but are not affiliated with any specific parish. We tend to frequent parishes because their priests welcome us to use their campuses, but are not directly affiliated or funded by any parish.
How often do you offer retreats?
We typically host two annual retreats. The first is a weekend fall retreat hosted at an indoor facility in The Cuyahoga Valley National Park. There we spend time together hiking through nature, listening to conferences by gifted priests, praying and adoring, as well as attending Masses and Confession, as well as other social events like bonfires.
The second retreat is six months from the first. It is typically held the day before Palm Sunday and is kept in silence. We spend time growing and stretching ourselves and being a lot uncomfortable sometimes in the quiet. This retreat ends with the Palm Sunday Mass and fellowship.
How do you fund your Works of Mercy? Why are your events free?
The ITE Project hosts its monthly events like its Works of Mercy, Adoremus and Fireside Chat with Father for free through the generosity of its supporting donors. These philanthropists understand the great need to feed the vigor of young adults and wish to provide these experiences without charge. Because our events are without cost, they are more accessible to the greater community. Our monthly events have always been free and will always be free.
Our retreats are kept at minimal costs and most often cost more to run than the money we collect. It is through the generosity of these donors that these retreats are subsidized.
Why would someone donate to The ITE Project?
People of varying demographics donate to ITE but each has a passion for creating an atmosphere in which young adults can encounter the living Christ. Some of those who regularly attend our events are gladly contribute what they can each month and others do not attend but want to sow into a ministry that invests in the future of the Church. No amount is too small for us to utilize-- a donation of $5 each month allows us to compensate three Confessors each year! Every dollar given to ITE is shared locally in our ministry to young adults, to the families ITE serves, the priests who provide ITE with the Sacraments and conferences and funding a professional staff to run the organization.
What if I would like to learn more?
You are welcome to schedule an appointment with our Mission Executive, Brooke Roberts. You can begin your inquiry by emailing her at Info@TheITEProject.com.