Holy Spirit at work - record number join Church at Easter Vigil in Diocese of Fort Worth
Father Babji Merugu, SAC, baptizes a new Catholic during the Easter Vigil at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church in Keller on April 4. (NTC/Kevin Bartram).
At the Easter Vigil, the Diocese of Fort Worth welcomed 1,716 new Catholics into the local Church.
Bishop Michael Olson reflected on the “remarkable number” during the Chrism Mass on March 31, telling the priests of the diocese that “this is due in part to our own transparency in allowing Christ to shine through you in our ministry and in every part of our lives.” He added that such an increase should invite gratitude and deeper reflection on the work of the Holy Spirit among God’s people.
According to Laura Nelson, diocesan director of faith formation, the Holy Spirit has indeed been especially active over the past year, as reflected in the 37 percent increase from 2025 in new Catholics. Nelson noted the numbers may also point to a broader cultural fatigue of living without direction.
“They’re looking for a known truth, something that’s real, that’s consistent and unwavering because the world changes all the time. What’s good and bad in the world is different day to day,” she said.
Parishes “across the board” have reported larger numbers participating in the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA), Nelson shared.
Come and stay
Over the past year, the faith community at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Parish has accompanied 184 Elect and candidates as they committed to weekly OCIA classes to learn more about the Church. That journey culminated at the Easter Vigil on April 4 for 64 Elect through their baptism, and will continue on May 9, when 120 will receive the sacraments of Communion and confirmation at a special Mass.
“The Holy Spirit is busy just stirring things up; I never cease to be amazed,” enthused Tammy Sandoval, director of religious education at the Keller parish. “Different people are showing up from all over — every religion, every background: Mormon, non-denominational, Eastern Orthodox. I mean, they’re just coming in droves and the beauty that I’m seeing is that, particularly in the last four years, they’re staying in the Church.”
Sandoval noted that while popular statistics often claim seven out of 10 people will leave the Church, “That’s not the case. They’re staying and they’re getting involved in the life of the parish — that to me is true fruit.”
The director pointed to the success of the parish’s many ministries, the outreach work they do, as well as the easy availability of “Catholicism on demand,” listing the many resources available for Catholics and non-Catholics alike, including Bishop Barron’s Word on Fire media apostolate and Father Mike Schmitz’s Bible and Catechism in a Year podcasts.
“So many of the people who are coming are well read,” she observed. Previously, many had practiced a faith with a form of liturgy “where they don’t really have an altar, they have a stage, and it’s really more about entertainment than worship. I think when they first come to the Mass, those are the people that are calling me, asking, ‘What is happening? We want what’s here.’”
Sandoval oversees the OCIA program alongside her husband, Deacon Larry Sandoval, who has served at SEAS for more than 15 years. Since recently retiring from his career as a Southwest Airlines pilot, the deacon has taken on a larger role in the ministry. With his leadership, the program has placed an even stronger emphasis on pastoral care for everyone who enters the process.
Classes are designed to ensure each candidate feels genuinely accompanied in their journey — starting from the moment they sign up for class.
“They’re transferred to me or one of our OCIA admins, and we get their whole story. We listen and simply try to journey with them. I feel like there’s a lot of accompaniment and mentorship that happens,” Tammy Sandoval said.
At the start of the 10-month program, candidates and catechumen are placed in table groups that will accompany them in their learning. For 2026’s incoming class of new Catholics, about 19 tables of eight candidates came together each Sunday for learning.
“Each table has a table leader that journeys with the [candidates and catechumen] for the whole year and then on. That means they meet their table for Mass; they meet their table for a Bible study; they go to Fish Fridays — whatever.
“I drop by some of the leaders’ houses on Friday nights and their whole table is there,” Sandoval said. “They are a huge extension of the success because we can’t possibly care for everybody, but we have a team of 30 well-trained catechists that love the faith and pray for these people.”
Table leaders sometimes serve as sponsors, and group members often stay in touch with each other long after the Easter Vigil.
“If it was just a class, just a program, there’s no growth there,” she explained. “I think every year when I talk to them one-on-one, the [formation] never falls off. They still keep coming.”
For the intellectually spiritual
At St. Maria Goretti Church in Arlington, two University of Texas at Arlington students joined 32 Elect and 21 candidates entering the Church this Easter.
Jeff Hedglen, UTA campus minister, believes these two students — and the eight who will enter the church on the Feast of Christ the King — reflect a growing trend among young adults, especially young men, who are drawn to Catholicism through intellectual curiosity and a great appreciation for the Church’s long history.
Of the two students entering the Church this Easter, one is converting from Hinduism and the other is a doctoral student from Peru who began exploring the Catholic faith after becoming engaged to a devout Catholic. Among the young men expected to enter the Church this November, several come from Protestant and evangelical backgrounds, Hedglen said.
“These guys all have varying stories of why they’re turning to the Church, but it tracks with what seems to be happening among Gen Z men who are coming from evangelical to apostolic religions, meaning us and the Orthodox churches,” the campus minister observed. “They’re finding that evangelicalism is not enough and they’re wanting something deeper, something with more roots, something with a deeper and richer theology, and they are starting to investigate beyond the Reformation — what was the Church in the beginning?”
Hedglen mentioned easy online access to the Church Fathers has been key for this demographic. “If you want to Google the early Church, you can easily find the writings of Irenaeus and all these people from the first and second century, and that has got people thinking, ‘Huh, that Church doesn’t look anything like my church.
Maybe I need something that looks more like the original Church.’”
Many of his students found their way to the UTA Newman Center out of their own initiative, searching for more knowledge than what they’d already encountered online.
“In this case, the algorithm is working in their favor because if they start researching, they’re going to start seeing more Catholic content,” Hedglen said.
From teacher to student
A well-trained catechist is an invaluable contributor to the continued growth of the Church. In the diocese, there are 258 certified catechists who have completed the diocesan Catechetical Institute, which was established in 2017.
OCIA teacher Jose Rueda of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Wichita Falls is currently attending the three-year certification program in hopes of providing stronger formation for his collective 18 students.
“It’s like building a house,” he said. “You have to start with the right foundation, and that’s what I’m learning this year in the class.”
When Rueda first began teaching OCIA in 2023, “I didn’t know what I was doing,” he admitted. At the time, classes were primarily lecture-based and there wasn’t a consistent rapport established with the students, who would sometimes leave the two-year OCIA program because of differing schedules or disruptions from work, family, or sports obligations.
A former Air Force instructor and confirmation teacher of nearly 15 years, Rueda felt the need for change in the parish program. At first, he took to the web for supplemental programs, but he found the help he was really looking for in a local catechist class, where he learned of the Catechetical Institute.
“I didn’t know how important it was until I went to that class and, out of curiosity, decided to take it,” he said. Rueda now regularly engages with his students, building authentic relationships, and allowing them space to ask and answer questions as they journey through the stages of initiation and become well-informed and inspired Catholics.
“There’s a process for that to happen,” Rueda shared. “First, we’ve to gain their trust. They have to trust us. And how will they trust us? By opening up to them and opening up our homes.
“In reality, we’re supposed to build a community, be a family.”
Rueda prays both for more students — and for more catechists with a heart to reach souls. “It’s a beautiful experience,” he said, encouraging Catholics and non-Catholics alike to “come in and sit down and see if you like it.”
Fruit of discipleship
When Sophia Carranza arrived at Texas Christian University in the fall semester of 2024, becoming Catholic wasn’t on her agenda.
However, the now-sophomore has not only entered the Church, but she is also contributing to its growth as co-lead of the TCU Catholic OCIA program.
“If you told me a couple years ago that this is what I’d be doing in college, I would have laughed and thought that, no, that would never happen,” Carranza said.
“It’s been a huge blessing to get to be on the leader’s side of it,” she continued. “I went through OCIA last year and entered the Church at Easter last year. To come full circle and be preparing for Easter has been just a crazy experience.”
Carranza and co-leader Javier Avila began leading the OCIA classes at the start of the fall 2025 semester while Campus Minister Catherine Ochoa was on maternity leave.
“They stepped into this role of mentorship and very quickly took on leading the class,” Ochoa said, remarking how the student leadership has borne significant fruit and will remain a permanent part of the TCU OCIA program.
“I’ve seen so much fruit of this discipleship because at the end of the day, that’s what our faith calls us to do,” she said.
Together with TCU Chaplain and Vicar General Father Jonathan Wallis, who attends each class session and enriches the lessons with added clarity and pastoral insight, the two student leaders saw 17 students receive their sacraments this Easter.
If not for scheduling issues, the class size would be bigger, Ochoa added. “We already have a roster of seven or eight students for this next OCIA class, and we haven’t even advertised yet.”
Avila, who will graduate at the end of this semester, reflected on the growth of the OCIA program since his freshman year when he entered the Church.
“It’s really great to be on the other side of things, being able to look at students who were in my place a couple years ago,” he said. “It’s really interesting, and Catherine, Sophia, and Fr. Wallis have done a great job growing it because it’s transformed a lot since I was there.”
The vicar general’s presence has been a great blessing for Carranza and Avila, both during their time as participants in the classes and now as leaders.
“It’s a privilege to have him be our priest because he has a very important job in the diocese, but when he comes to us, he’s just Fr. Wallis,” Carranza said. “He’s a convert himself, and that’s a beautiful way he can relate to students and share in that experience. It was comforting to know, when I was going through the process, that the priest helping me become Catholic had once been in my shoes.”
Avila said TCU Catholic is the largest faith-based organization at the university.
“TCU is a big Greek life campus, and there’s been plenty of students who have reached out to me, saying, ‘Hey, I really need to go to confession today,’ or ‘I really need to go to Mass this week. Could you help me? What’s the schedule like?’” Avila said. “There are a lot of students who I feel are reverting back to the faith, deepening their roots into Catholicism.”
Carranza said a music leader at a popular Protestant retreat she had attended as a freshman is now enrolled in OCIA.
“I think our generation and in the college student community, there’s a desire for truth and for greater purpose, and the more you search for that, the closer you’re going to come to the Church.”
Ochoa said students seeking answers to their questions are sometimes turned away from clear answers in other denominations and religions. However, when they seek out the Catholic Church, they will always encounter an answer. “Maybe you don’t even like the answer, but we have an answer,” the campus minister said. “They’re seeking truth and meeting the person of Christ.”