The Catholic Diocese of Providence is planning a major effort this fall to draw more Catholics into the habit of studying and reading the Bible

Though it has been in the works for many months, the plan is expected to get its first critical test next Saturday, when representatives of parishes across the state have been asked to assemble at Christ the King Church in West Warwick for an introduction to a program known as the Little Rock Scripture Study.

Christine Duggan, the diocesan coordinator for the project, said the goal is to get at least a third of the diocese’s 156 parishes to sign on and to begin organizing Bible studies in their parishes by November or December.

She said Bishop Thomas J. Tobin has made it clear he wants to have a program in place. “His motivation is simple. He wants Catholics to study the Bible more.”

Although Catholics are exposed to Scripture on a regular basis through their attendance at Mass, it has always been a concern that Catholics seem to spend less time studying biblical texts than many laypeople in evangelical and mainline Protestant communities.

A study by the Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate at Georgetown University conducted a national poll of self-identified adult Catholics in 2005 and found that while 87 percent of Catholics have a Bible in their home few read it frequently.

Indeed, 54 percent of the respondents said that, outside of Mass, they had not read the Bible in the previous 12 months. Only 18 percent said they had read the Bible once a month or more, and only 2 percent said they had read it every day.

Lisa M Gulino, the Diocese of Providence’s new director of religious education, said the Little Rock program, which was developed in 1974, may help to change some of those numbers here.

If it goes the way the diocese hopes, parishioners would gather each week in homes and parish halls and, with the help of a written or video commentary by a theologian or biblical expert, discuss the meanings behind particular Scripture passages and share how they can apply it to their lives.

“That’s what I like about the Little Rock Scripture Study,” she said. “In one sense, it is definitely a study, because you are trying to break open the word of God. But there is an experience component, too: ‘How does this affect my being a disciple of Christ?’ ”

The weekly meetings would be supplemented by a schedule of daily Bible readings and reflections that parishioners would carry out in their own homes. The practice, if carried out long enough, say organizers, can turn daily Bible reading into a habit that could last a lifetime.

The plan here is to have parishes conduct the Bible study for nine months –– with a particular focus on one or more of the epistles of St. Paul, since Pope Benedict XVI has established the year between June 28 and June 29, 2009, as the year of St. Paul.

Gulino said she doesn’t think typical Catholics are fully aware of how scriptural their faith is.

“Look at the Mass itself. When you open up any of the opening prayers, you will see references to Scripture, even in the greetings. The prayer ‘Glory to God in the highest’ is right out of Luke’s gospel, in his story about the appearance of the angels.”

Gulino says it’s her observation that because of the Mass, Catholics know more Scripture than they realize. A Scripture study program such as the one being envisioned, she says, can renew and refresh their understanding of the Mass.

Twice before, she says, she’s “walked through” the Little Rock process with two different groups –– once when she was director of religious education in the Diocese of Fall River, when some parishes wanted to try it, and again more recently with friends at Catholic University of America, where she was studying for her doctorate.

“I just got some people together and once a week we spent an hour and a half on the Scriptures. It was a good way to solidify our friendships. It builds community.”

The diocese is hoping to get three or four people from each of its 156 member parishes to come to theinformational session Saturday at Christ the King Church in Warwick from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. It also plans to offer a similar session in Spanish at St. Bartholomew Church in Providence, at a date yet to be announced.

rdujardi@projo.com