Fishers of families
Nicole and John Paul Velasco with their four children, Levi, Madeline, Matthias, and John-Luke in Roanoke. (NTC/Kevin Bartram)
In his June 3 message to participants in an evangelization seminar, Pope Leo XIV called for special attention to families, noting “Many parents, in raising their children in the faith, feel the need for communities that can support them in creating the right conditions for their children to encounter Jesus.”
At St. Teresa of Calcutta Parish in Roanoke, Nicole and John Paul (JP) Velasco — alongside their four young children — are helping build that kind of community, both for their own family and for other young families seeking to grow in that faith together.
HOW THEY MET: About a month after attending a Come and See discernment retreat in his home diocese of Orange, California, JP decided to stop discerning the priesthood. Shortly after, he agreed to take charge of beverages for a parish Theology on Tap event, where Nicole was signed up to bring food. One month later, the two were dating, and “from there, our relationship definitely blossomed,” Nicole said.
MARRIED: October 12, 2018, in California.
ALL TOGETHER NOW: Not long after the Velasco family moved to Texas during the COVID-19 pandemic, many of their family and friends joined them.
“Most of them said they would never move out here, and then they’d come visit us and saw what it was and wanted to be part of it,” JP said.
In a similar way, the couple has helped lead numerous families to the newest parish in the diocese.
“A lot of people said, ‘We’re not going to come here because there’s no church building,’” Nicole recalled. “We’d tell them, ‘You have to come. You have to see the beauty of it,’ and then they’ve stayed.”
EVERYONE IS INVITED: Extending an invitation to join the growing parish community is important.
“It’s the idea that everybody’s a part of this big community, even though we don’t have a church building, but the church itself is the community. And I think that’s what pulls everybody in.”
“We’re building a church. We’re building a community,” JP added.
OPPORTUNITIES GALORE: Although St. Teresa of Calcutta celebrates weekend Masses in an elementary school cafeteria, the parish has a vibrant and youthful community. “There are so many ministries for young families and ways to get involved,” JP said.
The two are involved in several, including the Knights of Columbus; Advancement Committee; Parish Financial Council; Pastoral Council; Moms Group; religious education and VBS; and ushering. In May, the Velascos were recognized as Family of the Year in Texas by the Knights of Columbus for their contributions to their parish.
LITTLE EVANGELISTS: Whether striking up conversations with strangers about God, proclaiming “Jesus loves you,” reenacting saint stories, or inviting people to a sometimes-nonexistent party after Mass, the four Velasco children — all under age 5 — have become natural evangelizers and a joyful inspiration to their parents.
“It’s surprising what they do and then how that is interpreted into our family lifestyle,” Nicole said. “It’s basically, the kids are leading us. We give them a background, but they lead us too.”
A TIME FOR JOY: As their children grow, Nicole and JP are committed to passing on meaningful traditions, starting with prioritizing the sacraments and building a strong community of faith.
“I feel like for both of us, prioritizing the sacraments was a very big thing,” Nicole said, reflecting on the values instilled by her parents. “I feel we are already doing that.”
JP recalled how celebrations for sacraments like baptisms, first Communions, and confirmations were “bigger than the birthdays,” and intentionally so.
“Tying the faith and our social life” was key, he said. He emphasized faith should be engaging and joyful: “Church isn’t meant to be boring, and being Catholic isn’t meant to be a lesser life … if it’s just go sit in church and don’t talk for an hour or two, and now we’re going home.” Instead, their Sundays often include Mass with friends, followed by brunch or playground time, creating a time of connection and joy for the entire family.
DISCERN ALL VOCATIONS: A recent talk they attended reframed how the Velascos speak to their children about vocations. “I’ve heard multiple times, ‘Oh, you encourage your kids to get married and have kids, but do you ever encourage them to be a priest or a sister?’ And I realized, ‘Oh, no,’” JP admitted. “I don’t think I’ve ever done that for my kids. …
“It’s something that I could see — one of our kids going that path, and it doesn’t bother us at all,” but the father of four stressed the need for proper discernment: “I want to make sure they do it for the right reasons.”
A CHURCH FOR KIDS: Building a church and a community means helping construct a legacy of faith for his children. “I mean, maybe Maddie will be getting married in that church.
“Who knows? That would be nice. But my hope is actually that, with all these young families starting out, all of our kids remain friends, and then they will have friends like I did, to go through life as Catholics, to keep them on the path.”
STAY SMALL: On a previous visit to the Roanoke parish, Bishop Michael Olson challenged the community to remember the feeling and value of being a small group. “Stay small even when you’re big,” the bishop said.
JP reflected, “The big challenge now for us is we have a good pool of people doing these ministries, but as we grow, we need to bring more people in. We will have to make sure that these ministries aren’t based around the individual person, but really around the whole community.”