By Becca Falivene Grillot, BA 鈥�10
Campus Ministry welcomed 10 students into the Catholic faith at the Church of the Incarnation on campus at the Easter Vigil this year. That鈥檚 not all, though: the Order of Christian Initiation Program for Adults (OCIA, formerly known as RCIA) at 吃瓜网allas has been growing over the past several years and now also offers sacraments for new Catholics in November and at individual masses throughout the year.
Director of Campus Ministry Deacon Ryan Sales said that many Catholic universities assume that the permeation of their Catholic identity is happening naturally, drawing students to explore the faith without specific invitation. He explains that at 吃瓜网allas, FOCUS missionaries are actively reaching out to non-Catholic students on campus and inviting them to participate in the programs offered by Campus Ministry. Team Lead Aubrey Mai, as a 鈥渧arsity鈥� missionary, focuses on student athletes, a population of the 吃瓜网allas community that is largely non-Catholic.
When those students are eager to learn more about the Catholic faith, Campus Ministry is ready for them. Over the past six years, Karen Bless, BA 鈥�15, alumna and former Campus Minister for Liturgy and Sacraments, developed an OCIA program uniquely tailored to 吃瓜网allas students. Bless, whose professional experience includes teaching in parish RCIA programs and working at the chancery in Fort Worth, built the university鈥檚 program from scratch. She carefully constructed a deeply intellectual program, knowing that 吃瓜网allas students are immersed in the Catholic faith from the first day they set foot on campus: they study complex theological texts, and they meet professors and students who are truly living out their faith and discussing it openly. Bless knew that 吃瓜网allas students who come into the OCIA program are ready for more than the basics.
In addition, Bless insightfully pinpointed the need for a variety of role models in the faith and began building a team, starting with alumnus Jason Schwartz, BA 鈥�22, and expanding to include several Dominican novices. Having more leaders for the program meant that they could begin to implement small group discussions at the end of each session, and it also gave Bless more free time to meet with students one-on-one during the week.
鈥淚 tell all the students who come and meet with me about it, 鈥楳y goal is to give you enough information for you to make an informed decision. I don鈥檛 work on commission,鈥欌�� Bless joked. 鈥淭his is their relationship with God, and so my goal is to assist them in growing in that relationship and walking with them as they鈥檙e trying to figure out where God wants them to be.鈥�
Junior Eve Cox came to 吃瓜网allas as a nondenominational Christian, attracted to the university鈥檚 liberal arts curriculum and its solid commitment to Christian principles. Open to learning more about the Catholic faith, she asked questions of her Catholic friends before deciding to dive deeper. Cox says Affiliate Assistant Professor of Theology Richard Bulzacchelli answered many of her more complex questions during his office hours. By the end of those conversations, she felt many of her unsettled questions about her Protestant faith had been answered, and she was convicted of her need for the Eucharist. Four days later, finals were over, and she went home to her Protestant family for the summer.
Her conviction remained strong, however, and Cox joined the OCIA program the following semester when she returned to campus. She found that, even though she had already learned so much about the faith from her Catholic friends and professors, it was helpful to have OCIA classes on specific teachings of the Church. And the small group format, she says, made all the difference in feeling accompanied on her spiritual journey.
鈥淓ven though I already knew a lot, I really appreciated being around other people who were thinking about converting because they could really understand me,鈥� Cox said. 鈥淚 really appreciated going to OCIA with a bunch of people who were in the same boat. I have lived my life one way for my whole life, but now I鈥檓 seeing the truth, and it鈥檚 so beautiful, but these are my frustrations and I just want to talk it out. It was like a support group.鈥�
Bless described spiritual conversion as a continual process of the human heart, recognizing that the students in OCIA may not all be ready to receive the sacraments at the exact same time. Students are welcome to join the program at any time of the year, and Campus Ministry offers a special Mass in November for those who are ready to enter the Church, in addition to the Easter Vigil.
Cox came into the Church in November of 2024, and she said, 鈥淚t was deeply moving how many people were there to celebrate me.鈥�
