St. Thomas More Newman Center / Facebook
CV NEWS FEED // The Newman Center at Ohio State University in Columbus welcomed 30 students into the Church at Easter this year, one of its largest-ever groups.
The Catholic Times reported that the Newman Center, which focuses on evangelization and providing a spiritual home for Catholic students on campus, has grown significantly over the last few years. In 2014, only eight students came into the Church, while last year, 20 students entered.
“I think there’s been a lot of life flowing through the Newman Center recently—this year and last year—and there are students who aren’t Catholic who are going to be caught up in the tide, so to speak, and they themselves are now joining the Church,” Will Kuehnle, coordinator of the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) program at the Newman Center, told the Catholic Times.
The Catholic Times reported that of the 30 who came into full communion with the Church at Easter, 12 were catechumens, 13 were candidates, four were baptized Catholics but completed their sacraments, and one was Ethiopian Orthodox and came into the Roman Catholic Church.
Catechumens are those who have not yet received any sacraments and are baptized at Easter. Candidates have already been baptized but are received fully into the Church through reception of the Eucharist and Confirmation.
While Kuehnle said that the Newman Center’s growth is ultimately the result of God’s grace, he added that student leadership, evangelization efforts, and investment in the OCIA program have contributed to the high numbers of people entering the Church every year.
“Some of the vitality is a reflection of the fact that students are being not just equipped but I think actually commissioned to be disciples and to be disciple makers, and they’re succeeding in doing that,” he said.
He added that several students involved in the Newman Center are converts themselves, which helps others feel more comfortable entering the Church.
“You find in this person not only a kind presence but also you learn that they, too, are a convert, and I just think that makes the process of conversion so much easier,” he said.
“So much of actually converting is a psychological, social question: Can I imagine myself as a Catholic?” Kuehnle continued. “And so, when you meet somebody who did convert, they’re nice, they’re still a normal person, they are very much thriving as a Christian, (and) suddenly it makes it much easier to imagine yourself being a convert too.”
In addition to building community within the OCIA program, The Catholic Times reported that FOCUS and Saint Paul’s Outreach missionaries are often on campus, and Buckeye Catholic ministry often coordinates Eucharistic processions around campus.
“I feel like, if you’re a college student at Ohio State and you go to class, you’ve got a pretty good chance of walking by a Eucharistic procession at some point, and that’s a marvelous thing,” Kuehnle said.
