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For one, it was a gradual, spiritual conversion. For another, a growing desire to be an official part of the Catholic community that he has lived among for the last four years.
Five people, each with ties to Boston College — three undergraduates, a graduate student and a fiancé of a BC alumna — were welcomed to the Catholic Church last Sunday through the sacrament of baptism or profession of faith, in ceremonies held at St. Ignatius Church.
Brian Himes, a graduate student at the School of Theology and Ministry, said his journey of faith began as a Protestant. His parents raised him in a Christian tradition, but he admits to having doubts and “sliding into agnosticism and maybe even atheism” before rediscovering his faith.
Since October, Himes had participated in Tuesday night classes for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.
“It was nice to be so focused on scripture, to read and talk about the passages. That common reflection was, in many ways, why this makes sense to me at this point in my life,” said Himes.
While some, like Himes, embraced Catholicism from other Christian faiths, others like senior Greg Cocchiola started the process from the beginning.
“I was raised outside any faith tradition, and I’d say during my sophomore year at BC, I started feeling the desire to become Catholic,” said Cocchiola, a finance major with a history minor who will begin working at Bank of America after graduation. “I started researching, but as time passed and classes became more difficult and more time-consuming, I forgot about it.
“Then, last semester, I was walking by the Campus Ministry office in McElroy. I can’t tell you how or why, but for some reason I turned in and walked right into Sister Mary [Sweeney]’s office. I wanted to know what it meant to be part of this community and thought the best way to figure it out for sure was to talk to people already in it.”
So began his year of study and reflection, leading up to his baptism on Sunday.
“I’ve never been a spiritual person in the slightest. I honestly had a very cynical view of religion,” he said. “So I was really starting, knowing absolutely nothing about being a Catholic. Nothing about Jesus or the Bible. I’m just now starting to really understand who God is and how I fit into this framework.”
Peter Roman ’11 said enrolling at Boston College was a “step in the right direction” on his faith journey, which was aided by the pre-med curriculum he took at BC.
“People always say that science and religion are diametrically opposed,” says Roman, an Andover native. “As a scientist, I need answers. Science helps me see and observe the world around me. Religion has helped me seek the answers to all of the other questions science doesn’t provide.
“I always felt that something was missing. I knew after talking with Sister Mary and much reflection, that I needed to make this a permanent part of my life.”
Sue Ly ’13 and Dan Pearce, whose fiancé is Abby Hasebroock '08, also were confirmed as Catholics on Sunday.
Himes, whose relationship with God and organized religion was especially complex being a student of theological studies, said he felt studying to become a Catholic alongside students like Cocchiola and Roman provided him with a new insight.
“It was nice, in the practical sense, that it forced me to focus on the basic questions, to see the fresh perspectives. And I think it is very symbolic that with the right of initiation, those who are newly baptized take the light of the Easter candle and ignite everyone’s light, passing the light throughout the church. They help re-ignite all of us.”