“Something’s happening that is bigger than all of us.”
Kathy Alton, principal of Sacred Heart of Jesus School in Lancaster, is talking about the record number of students joining the Catholic Church from her school this spring.
In her career in Catholic education, she’s seen a few students, teachers and parents join the Church over the years. But this year at Sacred Heart is like none she’s seen before, with 16 students, one teacher and one parent coming to the altar to receive the sacraments for the first time.
“The Spirit is moving,” she said.
It’s the same sentiments Bishop Timothy Senior echoed in response to the 265 new Catholics who received the sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion and Confirmation in the Church this Easter and the dozens of candidates, previously baptized, who came into full communion.
According to the Diocesan Office for Catholic Schools, many of the 32 Catholic schools in our diocese are reporting large numbers of students, teachers and parents entering into the fullness of the Church this spring.
“What we witnessed this Easter is a beautiful affirmation of our evangelizing mission as Catholic educators,” said Timothy Hamer, Assistant Superintendent for Catholic High Schools. “The remarkable number of students, families and educators who entered the Church this year demonstrate that our schools are places where faith is not only taught but lived and joyfully shared.”
At Our Mother of Perpetual Help School in Ephrata, five students were baptized and two of them received first Holy Communion during a school-wide Mass earlier this month.
Their welcome into the Church came in part through an invitation – one that Father Paul Borowski, C.S.s.R., pastor, extended in reaching out to school families and inquiring if any of their children had yet to receive the Sacraments of Initiation.
Last year’s invitation resulted in 17 student baptisms and five students being received into full communion with the Church.
“All we did was ask. It gave parents the invitation, rather than them maybe being hesitant about coming to us,” said Peggy Snyder, principal. “We opened the door and they said yes.”
This year’s celebration again took place during an in-school Mass that offered the entire student body a chance to witness the sacraments and celebrate the milestone with their classmates.
“The entire school was at the Mass, including our preschool students,” said Snyder. “We had parents and grandparents of the students being baptized there as well. Our fourth graders did the readings and the seventh graders sang in the choir.”
Snyder added that the student body was particularly reverent and attentive, understanding the weight of the liturgy.
“The numbers of people coming into the Church is definitely the work of the Holy Spirit,” said Melissa Connahey, principal of St. Joseph Parish in Hanover, where 42 students have come into the Church over the past several years.
This spring, two students, five parents and one teacher were celebrated as new Catholics at the Easter Vigil.
“I think it’s all about open and honest conversations about the faith – between teachers and students, students with their parents, the parents with our priests – and it leads people in the direction of coming to love the Church,” Connahey said.
Many times, students express a desire to join the Church in sacramental prep years as they see their friends getting ready to receive the sacraments. This often sparks conversations at home, where non-Catholic parents or parents who haven’t received all the sacraments are inspired to learn more.
This year at St. Joseph’s, teacher Shara Heacock received Holy Communion and Confirmation at the Vigil.
“Our kids are so enthusiastic about their faith, and it just spreads to others,” Connahey said. “We feel we are accomplishing the mission we’re put here to do.”
Alton said the numbers of new Catholics from our diocesan schools is a result of prayer, role models and living the faith authentically. As a principal, she was especially moved by four of her students asking teachers to be their sponsor/Godparent – including three who requested teacher Shara Stetler – and teacher Maria Hayes serving as a sponsor for her colleague, Kristan Stengel.
“We have a very faith-filled faculty, and I think that they are great models for our students and for each other,” Alton said. “We also enthroned our school to the Sacred Heart of Jesus last spring, and I think those promises of the Sacred Heart are very real. I think we’re seeing the graces of it.”
The numbers are also telling of our schools fulfilling their mission of forming disciples and leading students and families to Christ.
“Our Catholic schools have long been a place to encounter Jesus Christ and a place for transformative faith experiences. But now, more than ever, we see Catholic schools at the heart of the current growth of the Church in our society,” said Daniel Breen, Diocesan Superintendent for Catholic Schools and Secretary for Education. “At the Golden Apple awards this year, we celebrated a principal who was an OCIA sponsor for two adults in recent years, and teachers whose example led students and their families into the Catholic faith. Praise God for this beautiful confirmation of the work our schools are doing.”
Learn more about Catholic schools in the Diocese of Harrisburg at www.gocatholicschools.org.
(Photos courtesy of Our Mother of Perpetual Help, Sacred Heart of Jesus and St. Joseph schools.)
By Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness
