AGAWAM — Robert Calise, 33, felt he knew the time and place his life would change forever: during an Easter vigil at sunset Saturday at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Agawam.
“I don’t think I’ll feel that giant rush of the Holy Spirit. But I feel standing up there getting the Sacraments is going to feel like a burden has been lifted, like you’re being filled with breath, not in your lungs. I think it’s going to be more of a comfort feeling,” he told The Republican before that moment came.
Calise, a robotics maintenance technician, planned to be one of 200 people converting to the Catholic faith across Western Massachusetts at vigils this weekend. There are 79 churches in the diocese and the religious rite is as old as the church itself.
“It’s the process of evangelization. Jesus walked the earth and asked people to follow Him, and people are still being asked to follow Jesus. It hasn’t stopped,” said Celeste Labbe, director of faith formation for the Diocese of Springfield.
Celeste Labbee is director of faith formation for the Diocese of Springfield. (Staasi Heropoulos photo)Staff
There are many paths to conversion. For most of these converts, it began last September when they filled out paperwork and declared their intent to become Catholic.
They approached their new faith in stages, taking classes and working with teams of people at each parish helping them along this spiritual journey.
“We’re on call 24/7, guiding them through their daily walk,” said Dale Marie Breault, a member of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults team at St. John’s.
“It’s all about finding out where they are, meeting them and finding out how they learn and how they can embrace understanding. We structure it so you get to know who Jesus is,” she said.
The converts come from a range of religions. Some embraced spirituality through tarot cards or even witchcraft. Calise said he wasn’t sure what to believe before turning to Catholicism.
“Most of my life, I was agnostic. I always knew God, or some form of higher being, was there. But religion was never at the forefront of my thoughts. It was always on the back burner,” he said.
On their road to discovery, Calise and others have attended classes at their chosen churches, immersing themselves in a process of “inquiry” to see if they were on the right path.
“There is the period … where they’re delving deeper into the knowledge of the faith,” said Labbe. That time is known to Catholics as the catechumen, when the convert receives instruction ahead of baptism. “They go into the period of purification and enlightenment where they’re learning what it means to live the Christian life and preparing for the Sacraments they will be receiving at the vigil.”
The Easter vigil is the one day of the year when pastors across the diocese are presented with delegations of people to be converted. Depending on their religious backgrounds, they will participate in many of the Sacraments including Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation and Conversion.
Religious leaders say the last six months have been intense for the converts, with classes, reading, studying and daily Masses towards the end. But the final two weeks can be the most grueling, as human and otherworldly forces collide, said Breault.
“It’s difficult because you’re rubbing up against the secular world. The last two weeks are when they come under a lot of pressure. We’re fighting for their souls and that’s when things start happening. In the end, we get them across the finish line,” she said.
“I call them my little chickens,” Breault said.
Calise agrees he was in a race to the finish – and to a place he believed he would find satisfaction.
“It is chaotic, but I know at the end, it’s going to be good,” he said.
‘Holiest day’
The Easter vigil comes at the end of Lent and Holy Week, when Christians mark the trial and crucifixion of Christ, mourn His death and celebrate His resurrection.
“It’s the holiest day of the year. It’s the celebration of His life and love poured out for us. It’s when we celebrate Jesus’ light coming and passing on in baptism,” Labbee said.
She is pleased to be seeing so many people converting at a time when she believes the Catholic church is constantly under fire.
“You hear about the downfall of the Catholic Church. It’s bashed everywhere. Then you look at the Easter vigil and the number of people coming into the Catholic faith and you say, ‘Our Church is not dying. We’re alive and we’re active and we’re growing,’” said Labbe.
Dale Marie Breault is a member of the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults team at St. John’s in Agawam. (Staasi Heropoulos photo)Staff
Breault said she converted to Catholicism when she married her husband in 1994 but failed to practice the faith until years later, when retirement from a job she loved in financial services left her feeling hopeless.
“When my husband asked me to step away from that and learn how to live more of an ordinary, simple life, I crashed. Success was my God. But He divinely healed me from my anxiety, depression — everything that medication and therapists couldn’t fix,” she said.
Breault shared that story as she helped steward other people — eight at St. John’s this year — into the faith they joined this weekend.
