The Easter Vigil Mass at the Columbus St. Thomas More Newman Center was one of celebration.
The Newman Center, located near Ohio State University’s campus, welcomed 20 new members into the Catholic Church on Holy Saturday, April 8. The number is double that of the catechumens and candidates who became Catholic there last year.
“At the Mass, I could really sense the excitement of those coming into the Church and the whole Buckeye Catholic community,” said Father Adam Streitenberger, executive director of the Newman Center. “I’ve celebrated the Easter Vigil many times, but the enthusiasm and joy of the singing and celebration was so much more than I’ve witnessed.
“I can’t wait until next year – we already have five signed up for classes.”
Liam Brake, a sophomore at Ohio State, was among those who came into the Church this year.
“It was nothing like I had experienced before,” he said of the Mass. “It was a great experience, and … receiving the Body and Blood, and the full divinity of Christ, was for sure the best part of the Easter Vigil for me.”
Brake, who attended Catholic school for six years but was not baptized, said his decision to get involved with Buckeye Catholic, the Catholic student ministry at Ohio State, in college brought him into the Church.
“I got involved in the Newman Center this past year,” he said. “It really changed things for me, and that’s what led me to the Church and to become Catholic.”
Nicole Simental, interim music minister at the Newman Center, was impressed with the students’ enthusiasm.
“I have been playing in the Church since I was 12 years old, and I have not experienced an Easter Vigil like this one,” she said. “It was a joy and inspiration to see 20 people enter the Church and the excitement and zealous love for the Lord was so apparent amongst all the Buckeye Catholic community.
“During the Gloria, the bells were ringing, organ playing, and a trumpet was playing and the voices soared above all of that! It was an overwhelming and beautiful experience.
“The genuine joy heard in the singing of the Alleluia and all the hymns was an experience I will never forget. It gave me a glimpse of what the apostles probably felt after Our Lord’s Resurrection — true joy and wanting to tell everyone the news! The students inspire me to love the Lord more and to grow closer to Jesus! I’m grateful to be a part of the mission here at Buckeye Catholic.”
Pat McNulty, assistant director of the Newman Center, said he believes the presence at Ohio State of Catholic organizations such as St. Paul’s Outreach (SPO) and the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) played a role in many of the students’ conversions.
“I give a lot of credit to the missionary organizations SPO and FOCUS for their work with students here on campus,” he said. “They have really formed practicing Catholic students to be on mission for Christ on campus.
“Almost everyone joining the Church this year did so because they had a personal relationship with a Catholic who wasn’t afraid to share their faith with them.
“Now, the students who entered the Church want to do the same. A handful of them have already signed up to help lead our RCIA program next year and walk with new students who want to join the Church. We have already received multiple inquiries into next year’s program.”
Brake said he got involved with SPO at the beginning of his sophomore year, and organization members connected him with the Buckeye Catholic community. The outreach program offered men’s nights and Bible studies.
Brake recalled his first experience with SPO.
“You could tell they lived differently, like there wasn’t alcohol there,” he said. “People were getting to know each other, and there was just a different vibe, for sure, compared to what I was expecting.”
Sylvia Goldsmith, a junior at Ohio State, also entered the Church at the Easter Vigil. She said she wanted to become Catholic and knew the Newman Center was the right place for her.
“Once I found out that Buckeye Catholic had a student internal organization also, I knew it was going to be the right fit because I still wanted those traditional ties but to do a lot of it with people that were around my age.
“And then, when I met with Pat (McNulty), and he was great and immediately was just all in and involved with the process and ready to get me going with it, it just made sense for me to stay there. It was too easy.”
Goldsmith transferred to Ohio State after two years at a different college. She said Buckeye Catholic connected her with FOCUS, which was instrumental in her journey to becoming Catholic.
“The missionaries are fantastic; they are the best,” she said. “My (RCIA) sponsor was one of the FOCUS missionaries, actually. By meeting one of them, you end up around all of them, and it’s so incredible.”
Goldsmith said she appreciated the friendship and knowledge that the FOCUS missionaries shared with her.
“They are so much fun,” she said. “I like all of them, and I will take my time out of my day to talk to them, or just be around them, because they are so great, they are so nice, and they have so much knowledge, which is really incredible.”
Audrey Kilgallon, a sophomore at Capital University, came into the Catholic Church this year at the Newman Center. She plans to stay involved by assisting with RCIA instruction.
“Next year I’m going to be joining the development team and help out with the RCIA,” she said. “I’ll be helping with that group, and I got inspired from going through RCIA this past year. I’m really excited to keep that discussion going and hearing people and growing in my faith.”
Kilgallon said weekly discussions at the Newman Center’s Thursday night RCIA classes made her desire to help lead next year.
“Ultimately, I think it came down to the joy I got from the discussion,” she said. “I love talking about Christ and what it means to love Him and follow Him – to learn and discuss.
“I almost joined the (development) team for myself, to continue that joy in my heart, but I also joined the team to try to give that joy to other people.”