Thank you for your interest in the Troops of Saint George!
The Troops of Saint George provides a context for men and young men to grow in their love for Christ and His Catholic Church while experiencing a life of virtue and adventure.
It’s easy to get started with our 5 simple steps:
- Find a Captain – an adult male leader of the troop. Choose a man who is a natural leader. He does not have to be an outdoors expert, but it helps.
- Have your sponsoring priest complete the simple online endorsement letter that will be immediately emailed to the priest’s address provided in completion of your troops online Charter Agreement.
- Your Captain will then sign the TSG “Charter Agreement,” that will associate the local troop with the headquarters of TSG. Without this Charter Agreement, we don’t recognize the local troop and you are NOT insured. When you send in your charter, you will also pay your dues.
- Recruit some men and young men.
- Schedule a campout or first activity (rock climbing, hiking, fishing, etc.)
Common Questions Regarding Starting a Troop
This is the number one question for busy priests!
Don’t worry. Priests and deacons are not obliged to run the troop. The
priest must write one letter affirming that your adult male leader (the
“Captain”) is a Catholic in good standing at your parish. The Captain is
accountable to the priest and serves as the point man between the priest
and the troop.
The priest does not have any camping obligations to the Troops of Saint
George. A priest could go on every single campout, say Mass, hear
confessions in the woods, and teach rock climbing to the boys...or do
none of that. The level of commitment is defined by the priest.
The more common situation is that Father will occasionally stop by a
meeting to say hello. Also, it’s great if the priest or pastor comes out to a
campout to say Mass or hear confessions once or twice a year. Or he
could opt out of 100% of all campouts, pilgrimages, or adventures. It’s up
to him.
No, we are not an alternative scouting
organization. TSG is chiefly a Catholic
catechetical apostolate. Our primary
goal is to help men and young men
grow in the theological and cardinal
virtues and strengthen their love for
Christ in the Catholic Church. Camping
isn’t the goal—it’s the context.
TSG is a 501c3 non-profit apostolate. Each troop is “chartered” with the
TSG headquarters, but has its own autonomy.
Due to the nature of camping and our commitment fostering vocations
to the priesthood and married life, we are a 100% male organization. At
this time we do not have a parallel structure for young ladies.
Individual troops are encouraged to obtain liability insurance for outdoor
activities including accident liability coverage for campouts and meetings.
Such insurance policies protect the leaders, fathers, parish, and priests
from liability. Individual troops are encouraged to check with their parish
to see if their troop can be covered by an existing parish policy. In the
U.S. only, TSG offers each chartered troop, and its members, an Accident
Insurance policy.
Yes. We require every
Captain (the adult leader
of a troop) to submit a
certificate of completion
for the local diocesan
safe-environment
credentials. The Captain is responsible for making sure that all other adult
males are in conformity with the local diocesan standards. Moreover, a
person under 18 is never allowed to be alone in private with any adult
during TSG activities (unless he is the son of that adult).
We are a 100% Catholic organization, because our activities include things
like Mass, Rosary, prayers to Mary and the Saints, confession, and other
practices that would make non-Catholics boys feel uncomfortable or
excluded.
Non-Catholic fathers, uncles, or grandfathers are able to participate if
they conform the safe-environment standards of the diocese, but nonCatholic
men are not allowed to hold leadership positions. We do this to
protect our priests and to galvanize our Catholic identity and direction.
Beyond a nominal troop charter fee, current dues are $30 per registered
member (Adults and Cadets). Ten registered members would equal $300
per year plus the $150 originating charter fee or $80 annual re-charter fee.
The fees and dues cover resources, structure, national website access,
access to uniforms, insurance (U.S. only), badges, etc.
Troops handle this differently. For some
troops, the local parish covers the dues
as part of their young adult ministry.
For other troops, especially independent
troops, each family pays their share of
the dues.
Absolutely. We expect our men (the
officers) and young men (the cadets) to perform service projects for the
local parish—landscaping, ushering, painting, etc. Every young man or
cadet is required to eventually do a service project for your parish.
Not necessarily. TSG only requires a “priest” to approve the local troop.
Sometimes the Pastor approves a troop but then chooses another priest
or even a deacon to be his liaison with the troop. All TSG requires is that
there be a Catholic priest who approves of the local troop.
TSG does not require the authorization of a bishop to charter a local
troop. However, you are welcome to consult with your bishop about
starting a local TSG troop. There may even be a troop already in your
diocese!
TSG troops come in two flavors: parochial troops and independent
troops.
Parochial troops are ideal and they officially associate with a local
parish. The relationship is akin to that of the Knights of Columbus. The
troop has a place to meet and they offer services and assistance to the
local parish.
Independent troops are allowed when the members of a troop are
scattered over a large region or they do not have access to a centralized
parish. Alternatively, a troop might seek to be stationed at a local school,
university, meeting hall, or some other location. An independent troop
still needs a priest sponsor, but they would not meet or be associated with
a particular parish.
Most of our troops are parochial. Independent troops are not ideal and
we discourage them. However, we recognize that there is a need for this arrangement