Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series of articles the Catholic Star Herald is featuring about individuals who entered the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil on April 8. Look for previous and future stories at catholicstarherald.org.
For Sicklerville’s Harry Bell, the full impact of his decision to become Catholic occurred when his eight-year-old daughter, MacKenzie, asked him a simple question.
“She asked me for a Bible,” he explains.
This was shortly after Bell began the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process at Saint Charles Borromeo Parish, and 8-year-old MacKenzie, inspired by her father, started religious education classes.
“I wanted to be a better father and husband. If I started going [to RCIA], I thought it would make her more excited about Mass and the faith and being a part of the parish,” Bell says.
Mission accomplished.
“These past months make me continue to want to learn with MacKenzie. It’s exciting, going through this together; what’s new to me is new to her,” he says.
For those like Bell, being initiated fully into the Catholic faith at this year’s Easter Vigil has not only meant growing closer to their respective communities, but their families, too.
Jamie Lane arrived in Camden five years ago with his family, after a life in the Bronx, New York. The son of a Baptist preacher, Lane was drawn to the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception and began attending Sunday morning Mass shortly after arriving in South Jersey.
It wasn’t until his college-age stepdaughter, Angeliyz, was asked to be a godmother that Lane and his entire family decided to integrate fully into the Catholic faith.
Lane, his fiancée, Rosangela, 8-year-old twin sons Ayden and Jayden, and Angeliyz all began taking RCIA and religious education classes at the Cathedral. Suddenly, conversations during family car rides and dinners started becoming more faith-centered and prayerful, Lane says.
“We’d pray the Rosary and Hail Mary together, talk about the Act of Contrition,” he explains. “We would constantly ask each other, ‘What did you learn today?’ We became more involved with each other, and encouraged and supported one another more.”
His twins recently made their first communion; Rosangela and Angeliyz are set to be confirmed this month.
“This whole process has strengthened us together as a family,” Lane says.
The path to the Catholic faith strengthened relationships for Bell, too. Bell’s route as a postman includes the houses surrounding Saint Charles Borromeo Church. As such, he has gotten to know many Catholic families over the years.
It was still a surprise, when last fall as RCIA classes began, he learned his instructor was Mike Garrison, a retired mailman.
“I looked forward to each Monday night and the teachings that Mike presented,” Bell says, adding that one of the most meaningful lessons for him was to hear that “as long as you have faith and grace, you can go far.”
Another blessing of this faith journey: the extended families Bell and Lane found in their respective parish communities.
“The Cathedral is so welcoming, the priests know us by name,” Lane says. “At each Mass, I fall more in love with my faith; I find answers to questions I’m asking. And my family has now come together for a bigger cause.”
Bell has met others who make him feel “like we’ve known each other forever” – both inside and outside the church walls, he says.
In the weeks after the Easter Vigil, “I was on my mail route, and someone jumped out of their house and congratulated me for entering the Church. It turns out they were at the same Mass,” he says.
Now that he’s found the optimal route for the rest of his life, Bell is confident the Lord will deliver.
“God wants good things for you; he’ll put you on the right path.”
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