By CatholicVote | Created at 2024-11-21 19:21:26 | Updated at 2024-11-22 01:43:31
6 hours ago
CV NEWS FEED // A growing number of high school students are choosing to become Catholic, and Catholic Central High School in Detroit is leading the way with a unique sacramental preparation program that is attracting national attention.
Since the inception of the Order of Christian Initiation of Teens (OCIT) in 2018, approximately 50 students at Catholic Central have been initiated into the Catholic Church, and another 18 are set to complete their sacraments spring of 2025, Detroit Catholic reported.
The success of the program, which provides a pathway for non-Catholic students to learn about and join the Catholic faith, has caught the attention of education leaders, including the National Catholic Educational Association. School administrators and theology teachers are looking to share their success at the association’s annual spring conference.
“I think there is an impression that the Church is not speaking to young people — that faith is withering on the vine, but this is not the case at all,” said Fr. Patrick Fulton, CSB, principal of Catholic Central. “We’re able to meet young people where they are in their faith journey.”
OCIT was approved by the Archdiocese of Detroit after a student expressed a desire to become Catholic in 2018. What started as a small effort to meet the spiritual needs of one student quickly grew into a school-wide initiative. Fr. Fulton, who became principal in 2019, expanded the program in 2021, and interest rose.
Catholic Central theology teachers lead biweekly lunch-hour meetings where students learn about Catholic teachings, rituals, and sacraments. The sessions are designed to answer students’ questions and offer guidance on the Catholic faith, allowing students to engage with the Church in a personal way.
Students in the OCIT program also meet for supplemental sessions, where they can ask questions, discuss their spiritual journeys, and support each other. The program emphasizes peer-to-peer evangelization, and students often encourage each other to deepen their faith and participate in the sacraments, according to Detroit Catholic.
The program culminates in a school-wide Mass of initiation, where students receive their sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and first Holy Communion.
The program has proven to be a transformative experience for many students, like senior Nick Leiter, who was raised Protestant but felt a deep connection to the faith after attending theology classes and participating in OCIT.
“I started to realize my doubts were not grounded,” Leiter said. “My questions were answered through faith. I could find God through faith and reason. I could find him intellectually and through religion.”
Rebecca Joseph, co-leader of the OCIT program and theology teacher at Catholic Central, explained that the program ensures students don’t miss the opportunity to fully embrace the Catholic faith when they express a desire to be baptized or fully initiated into the Church.
According to Joseph, “The kids are actually becoming evangelists to each other; they are becoming witnesses to other kids and their families.”
Junior Levi Fleer, a former non-denominational Christian with Catholic roots on his mother’s side, was drawn to the Catholic faith after witnessing his friends’ baptisms during his freshman year at Catholic Central. He was initiated into the Church in the spring of 2024.
“[W]hat struck me was at the end of my freshman year, when a bunch of kids were baptized, and one was my friend,” Fleer said. “It started to grow on me that this is me, and these are my people.”
As the program continues to grow, Fr. Fulton and the school’s administrators hope it will serve as a model for other Catholic high schools across the country.
