An Ohio State University student and a convert to the Catholic faith while serving a prison sentence spoke of the impact that ministries in the diocese have made in their lives at the annual Miter Society Dinner.
Kaleb Martin, a graduating senior at Ohio State, and Chris Gay, who came into the Church during his incarceration at London Correctional Institution, addressed more than 720 guests on Sunday, April 6 at Columbus St. Charles Preparatory Academy’s Walter Commons.
Bishop Earl Fernandes provided an update on the diocese and explained the benefits of The Appeal, the annual campaign from which donations are used to fund various ministries and programs.
Bishop Fernandes and Brandt Boyden, a seminarian at the Pontifical College Josephinum, led a Vespers Prayer Service before the dinner. Vespers, also known as Evening Prayer, is part of the Divine Office used by clergy, religious and also laity as part of the Church’s daily cycle of prayer.
Gay, who now lives in Portsmouth and is active at St. John Paul II Scioto Catholic Parish, received a standing ovation after his talk.
“When you’re incarcerated, it’s easy to feel forgotten, like the world has moved on without you, and your mistakes define you,” Gay said. “But prison ministry showed me something different. It reminded me that I was not forgotten.”
Gay described his rough start growing up in the Wellston area and how he ended up in foster care by age 14. At that point, he fell into the wrong crowd, leading him down a path of crime and substance abuse.
At age 30, he committed a crime that resulted in a 56-month sentence at London Correctional. After seven months there, he said he felt forgotten and planned to take his life.
After going to the chapel to make peace with God before attempting suicide, he felt a breath on the back of his neck and he turned around. He found a copy of the Catholic devotional Give Us This Day and his life began to be transformed.
A week later, a priest walked into the chapel for confession and Gay was inspired to tell him he wanted to become Catholic. Gay began studying the faith and received the Sacraments of Baptism, First Holy Communion and Confirmation on Dec. 29, 2022.
“That moment changed my life,” he told the crowd. “I started attending Mass weekly and joined a Catholic bible study on Sundays. The Eucharist became the center of my life.”
As his life began to change, he learned that he was eligible for a Judicial Release from prison and could transition to a community justice center, where he completed a program that included cognitive-behavioral therapy.
His first stop after his release was Portsmouth St. Mary of the Annunciation Church to thank God for His guidance. He has since become a lector and altar server at St. Mary and Holy Redeemer churches and also leads the rosary every other Sunday.
“Prison ministry gave me hope on days when I had none,” he said. “It reminded me that I am not alone – that there are people who care, who believe in me, and who want to see me succeed. Most importantly, it brought me closer to God, showing me that He never turned His back on me, even when I felt unworthy of His love.
“Now, as I move forward, I strive to be a light for others. Prison ministry didn’t just touch my life – it changed it. And for that I will always be grateful.”
Martin found the light of Christ shining brightly at the St. Thomas More Newman Center during his years as a student at Ohio State.
He described feeling spiritually directionless as a freshman at OSU in 2021 in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic and classes being offered online.
A track and cross country athlete, Martin was drawn to the Newman Center by teammates who were strong in their faith.
“And through the community at the Newman Center, and through all the resources that helped me learn more about the faith, I realized it’s much deeper than what I’d ever thought,” he shared.
He credited the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) missionaries for helping him learn how to read the Bible, lead Bible studies and share the faith with others in a welcoming environment like the Newman Center’s new lounge and coffee shop.
“There’s a lot of noise going on around campus – and it’s not bad; a lot of it is just loud – and it’s hard to hear Jesus’ voice sometimes, calling you to draw near to Him, to speak about Him to others, and it’s been a blessing to have the Newman Center as kind of a sanctuary, as a place to study, but also to speak to others and have those deep, meaningful conversations where you can share the Gospel message and have a safe environment where you can treat others just with love and openness and in sharing the Word of God,” he said.
Bishop Fernandes highlighted the evangelization efforts at Ohio State, where 1,000 people attended an Ash Wednesday Mass in the Ohio Union, 1,200 students regularly attend Mass on Sundays at the Newman Center and 400 participate in Bible study or faith formation. At Easter, Buckeye Catholic will have 49 new members coming into full communion with the Church.
The bishop mentioned evangelization as one of The Appeal’s four pillars. The others are vocations, education and social concerns.
And the needs in the diocese continue to grow. Vocations has taken a major turn upward, going from 17 seminarians two years ago to 40 this year, with a cost of $55,000-$60,000 to educate each young man per year.
There are more Catholics and non-Catholics to evangelize, and the numbers are skyrocketing. The diocese has grown from 278,000 Catholics to 505,000 in the past few years.
“Every one of those Catholics, every one of the non-Catholics, non-Christians, needs Jesus Christ,” Bishop Fernandes said.
Evangelization efforts extend beyond college campuses and schools. The diocese has converted to a more faith-based catechetical program, the bishop pointed out, and preparation for marriage has also changed.
Programs offered not only in English but Spanish and even in French are needed to communicate with the faithful. In the past year, the Hispanic population has grown by 20 percent.
To illustrate that growth, the bishop recently confirmed the same number of young people (180) at Westerville St. Paul the Apostle, the largest parish in the diocese, as at Columbus St. Stephen the Martyr Church, a Spanish-speaking parish.
“New immigrants are coming into the Diocese of Columbus and we have the opportunity, as a Church, to be there for them, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” Bishop Fernandes said.
Catholic education leads to freedom and opportunity, the bishop stressed, and financial resources are needed to support the 19,000 students in Catholic schools and another 50,000 participating in parish schools of religion or catechetical programs around the diocese.
Among the numerous social needs in the diocese are prison ministry and assistance for the poor and underserved through the St. Francis Evangelization Center in southern Ohio and J.O.I.N. in Columbus.
“The Appeal goes to offer support to the Diocese of Columbus and provide for those things that no one parish can provide on its own – Catholic schools office, our legal office, vocations office, marriage tribunal,” Bishop Fernandes said. “People don’t know how great the need is.”