At Catholic Central, a trend emerges: More students are choosing to become Catholic
Students enrolled in this year's OCIT program pose for a photo during a class session Nov. 12.
Since 2018, Basilian-run school's Order of Christian Initiation of Teens program has welcomed about 50 students into the faith
NOVI — In the six years that Catholic Central High School has offered a program to guide students who are interested in becoming Catholic, the program has not only gained momentum, but it might be garnering some national attention.
To date, about 50 Catholic Central students have been initiated into the Catholic Church, while another 18 are enrolled to be fully welcomed this spring.
“We are hoping to take this on the road,” Catholic Central principal Fr. Patrick Fulton, CSB, told Detroit Catholic. He said the program’s popularity among students and its success has caught the attention of many, including the National Catholic Educational Association, where Catholic Central theology teachers and administrators are hoping to present at the 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,” Fr. Fulton said. “We’re able to meet young people where they are in their faith journey.”
The Basilian-sponsored school first requested permission from the Archdiocese of Detroit in 2018 to begin an adapted sacramental prep program for students using the Rite of Christian Initiation of Teens (now the Order of Christian Initiation of Teens, or OCIT), which parallels the formation program for adult converts, known as the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA).
When Fr. Fulton became principal in 2019, he sought permission from his superiors to expand and formalize the program during the 2021-22 academic year.
Participation began to boom.
In 2022, four students completed their sacraments. In 2023, that number was 11. This past spring, 22 Catholic Central students entered into full communion with the Church.
It's a trend Fr. Fulton said fills him with "a sense of awe" at the work the Holy Spirit is doing.
"These young people sow the seeds for their families and for their peers," Fr. Fulton said. "It’s a beautiful thing to see and brings tears to my eyes.”
In addition to learning about the faith during theology classes, students interested in the OCIT program attend biweekly meetings during lunch and homeroom hours to learn about the rites, traditions and teachings of the Catholic Church. It is also a forum for the students to ask questions.
Senior Nick Leiter grew up Protestant, but didn’t attend church often. Interested in Catholic Central’s academics and hockey program, he decided to enroll at the Novi school. He admitted he “felt a little out of place, and I didn’t know any of the prayers.” During his first few years, he was skeptical of the Catholic viewpoint.
He did, however, enjoy theology class.
“It was the first time I really learned the story of Jesus and God, and then I started to read some Scripture,” Leiter said.
By his junior year, he had started to build a belief system. And, starting senior year, he felt different.
“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.”
That’s when he heard about the OCIT program in class one day and decided to join.
The idea for the OCIT program began in 2018, when a student approached theology teacher Colin Whitehead interested in receiving the sacraments he missed growing up. Moved by the opportunity to assist other students in the same position, Catholic Central's administration decided to cast a school-wide net to see if other students were interested.
After Detroit Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron approved the school's request to move forward, Whitehead spearheaded the program and developed the curriculum for students, regardless of their grade. Whitehead added Archbishop Vigneron's 2017 pastoral letter, “Unleash the Gospel,” which calls for new and creative methods of evangelization, was the catalyst for the OCIT program.
In the years since, interest has grown as Catholic Central's students have begun evangelizing one another, Whitehead said.
“Unless there is a personal connection, kids won’t follow through,” Whitehead said. “We found this is an authentic way for us to meet our students where they are.”
Students in the OCIT program still attend theology class five days a week, but also meet separately during lunches and outside of class to dive deeper, an opportunity Whitehead said "fills in the gaps and holes for the students."
During the Easter season, a bishop visits the school to celebrate a school-wide Mass of initiation, where OCIT students complete their sacraments surrounded by the entire school body. Sometimes, students choose other students or teachers to be their sponsors or godparents, Whitehead said.
Rebecca Joseph, co-leader of the OCIT program and a theology teacher at the school, said the program helps students from “falling through the cracks” when a student expresses a desire to become Catholic or fully initiated into the Church.
“For a young person to make a call or contact a parish, they may not want to do it alone,” Joseph said. “This is their faith community, and they want to be baptized with their Shamrock brothers here. The kids are actually becoming evangelists to each other; they are becoming witnesses to other kids and their families.”
Whitehead said Catholic Central's OCIT program does not seek to usurp the role of the parish, "but rather works to to introduce the student into the life of their local parish."
For sophomore football player Jalen Montlouis, the witness of his fellow Shamrock teammates helped him decide to move forward in starting OCIT this fall. Montlouis said he enjoys attending Mass on Sunday with his teammates before practice.
“Faith is incorporated into everything we do here,” Montlouis said. “It felt really good to me being close to my brothers. I just wanted to know more and be included. They helped me get into this program, and I appreciate it.”
Montlouis said he didn’t follow any religion before attending Catholic Central. “Right when I got to this school, I felt a bond and a connection,” he said.
Another student currently enrolled in OCIT, junior Levi Fleer, was a non-denominational Christian before attending Catholic Central, though his mother's family was Catholic.
“Attending Masses that first year, I didn’t know much, but what 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.”
Fleer was initiated into the Church this past spring. Since becoming Catholic, he's already seen the fruits of the Holy Spirit active not only in his own life, but in his family's.
“One thing I noticed when I finished the program is that my brothers and my mom have seen changes in me that have sparked them,” Fleer said. “Jesus has changed my life for others, not just for me.”
