The ringing of church bells. Inspiration from a child. The joy of a coworker. Through each, someone’s life was touched, leading to a journey of discovery and to the Catholic Church.
 

“I live very close by to this church, so I hear the bells often ring, and it’s just curiosity that got me into it,” says Giuseppe Lorenzoni of Presque Isle.

“My eldest received his first Communion last spring, and watching him receive Communion for the first time was just amazing,” says Trena Soucy of Portage.

“My sponsor was one of the most positive people I’ve ever met, and I asked him one day, ‘What’s your secret?’ And he told me, ‘I go to the church, and I love God,’” says Landyn Francis of Bangor

Giuseppe, Trena, and Landyn are among 284 people from 26 parishes who will become members of the Catholic Church this Easter. That is an increase of nearly 100 from last year and the highest number in more than a decade.

They include 157 people who had never before been baptized in any faith tradition and 127 who were baptized in other Christian traditions but will now be welcomed into full communion with the Catholic Church through confirmation and first Eucharist.

“It’s an important step forward into finding truth and grace, and I’m excited for my children to see it,” says Trena. 

“That yearning for the Eucharist, that’s what I’m looking forward to,” says Giuseppe. “Whenever I’m at Mass, and I see it exposed, my heart is just yearning so badly.”

Those who will become Catholic have been participating in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) in their home communities but came together the first weekend of Lent for the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. The Masses were celebrated in Presque Isle, Winslow, and Portland.

During the rite, catechumens (those not previously baptized) publicly express to the bishop their desire to receive the sacrament, and their godparents attest to their readiness to do so. Their names are recorded in a book, and they are then called the elect, a sign that they have been chosen by God.

In a similar manner, during the Call to Continuing Conversion, candidates (those baptized in other Christian faiths) express their desire to be confirmed and receive first Eucharist, while sponsors attest to their readiness to receive those sacraments.

“I just want to encourage you to continue to let the Lord work, let the Spirit meet you, and indeed, you will see the abundance of grace and more happiness in the future,” Bishop James Ruggieri told them.

The elect and candidates say the journey itself has already been life changing.

“I feel like I’m just stronger. I’m happier,” says Maddison Cleaves of Presque Isle. 

“It has changed me dramatically, but you can’t define the changes,” says Giuseppe. “All I know is that life has been something more beautiful.”

“I used to be stressed out about everything, and now, whenever something is going on, I just offer it up to Him. I know He’s got a plan,” says Landyn.

Landyn says he was evangelized by coworkers who were active churchgoers. He says while he was feeling a lot of anxiety about events in the world, they seemed at peace, so he wanted to know why. The answer was their faith.

“They invited me one day from work to go and see what it was all about, and as soon as I walked into Holy Family in Old Town, it was a lock. I was, like, this is where I need to be,” he says. “When you walk into the building, and you look up, it hits you all at once, and it just feels right.”

Landyn’s coworker, Henry Kindler, became his godparent, something he describes as the honor of a lifetime.

“There is no greater honor or joy than being able to help, in any small way, people to get closer to Jesus,” he says. 

 For Giuseppe, it was curiosity over the ringing of church bells that first drew him to Jesus. He lives near Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church in Presque Isle and says hearing the bells ring started him thinking.

“It was, like, ‘Why are they playing it for everyone? I need to go and investigate,’” he says, “I have been hating on this for who knows how long, but I don’t know what it is.”

It led to hours of research and to a growing fascination with the history of the Church.

“Taking some time to study and learn and really integrate myself into the history just opened up my eyes, and I realized I was living my entire life wrong,” he says.

He says while he was once atheistic and agnostic, his relationship with God “is everything for me right now.” 

Maddison says she already had come to know God while attending summer camps through the Baptist church as a child. However, she was introduced to Catholicism as a teenager by a Van Buren family she had come to know. She began attending Mass with them which led her, at age 17, to decide to join the Church. Still unsure at the time, she didn’t complete the program. Now, at age 26, she describes herself as all in. 

“I’m excited to be here and to be able to become Catholic,” she says. “I feel a lot more connected and feel His guidance a lot more now.”

Maddison says she and a friend dove in last fall and haven’t looked back.

She is also engaged to a man who is Catholic and says “being centered with God in our relationship is awesome.”

Trena, who was also raised Protestant, has been attending Mass with her husband, who is Catholic, since they were married 10 years ago.

She says what finally led her to join the Church was seeing her 8-year-old son make his confirmation and receive first Eucharist last spring.

“It became very important to me that our family was able to worship together as a unit, and so my heart led me to join the Church,” she says. “I feel like since I’ve started this process, we are able to participate more fully as a family, and it’s just wonderful.”

She says she feels a greater sense of truth in her worship now and is looking forward to being able to participate fully in the sacraments. 

“I feel like it’s time for me to come home,” she says.

That is a feeling shared by Bridgett Marie Bonn Wagner of Litchfield.

“We’re very grateful in today’s world to be able to be coming home to the Catholic Church,” she says.

Bridgett says she attended non-denominational services in a military setting as a child but says she has come to believe that she has always been Catholic at heart.

“Maybe what sets me apart from my Protestant peers is my Catholic upbringing on my dad’s side of the family. They were very devout Catholics,” she says.

 Bridgett says she recognized her Catholic identity following the death of Pope Francis. She says she was a legislative clerk who participated in the Maine Legislative Prayer Caucus, but when she asked for prayers for Catholics following the death of the pope, she realized that she was feeling the loss more intensely than those around her.

“I was the only one in the room that seemed to carry that heaviness, and that’s when, I guess maybe, the seed started to crack open and grow roots and sprout, this seed that had been inside of me all these years,” she says. “I realized I am Catholic and I want to be Catholic.”

She reached out to one of her Catholic aunts hoping she would serve as godmother, and while that wasn’t possible because she doesn’t live nearby, Bridgett says she is pleased with how it turned out.

“I couldn’t have dreamt my sponsor into my life,” says Bridgett. “She is just lovely.”

Bridgett and the other elect and candidates say they have enjoyed OCIA and found a welcoming community through it.

“It’s been a great experience to meet other people who are going along the same journey as I am and to get answers to a lot of questions that come from the secular world about the Church,” says Landyn.

“Being with a bunch of people in the same process, in the same learning stages, seeing their stories, how we all can unite into that and then realizing we’re all on the same path, that community is just the best thing you can really ask for,” says Giuseppe.

“Everyone is so welcoming,” says Maddison. “I’ve joked over the last couple weeks, as we’re nearing the end of the process, how much I’m going to miss our weekly meetings.”

The Elect and candidates are now spending Lent in final spiritual preparation to receive the sacraments.