30 Students Entered the Church This Easter At Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas

On Divine Mercy Sunday, Rance Ridley will be one of 30 students to be received into the Church at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, by Archbishop Shawn McKnight, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas.

Eight of those students will be baptized.

That makes Ridley a member of one of the largest classes of candidates and catechumens in the school’s history. Thirty is an impressive number considering that over 80% of the student body is already Catholic.

Ridley’s story is much like others.

Growing up in Oklahoma, Rance would occasionally attend a Protestant service, but did not have a church.

When he toured Benedictine College last spring, something caught his eye — the Catholic faith.

Curious about the faith life of his new school, he began to learn more about the Catholic Church over the spring and summer as he prepared to begin at Benedictine in the fall. By the time he arrived at campus, Rance was ready to dive all into the Catholic faith.

“I didn’t really know what a Catholic college was going to look like, I did not know what to expect,” Ridley said. “I thought about it over the summer. I started going to church a little bit more and I realized that if I’m at a Catholic college where there are two churches right here and priests and monks walk around everywhere, there’s no better place to explore my faith.”

“The estimated population of non-Catholic students on campuses is 450, so if you do the math, it would be almost like 10% of our non-Catholic students are actually becoming Catholic,” said Father Ryan Richardson, chaplain of Benedictine College. “I think that’s pretty impressive.”

Richardson attributes the large class to a renewed effort to reach out to sports teams as many of the non-Catholic students are athletes and the development of a dynamic OCIA program led by assistant chaplain Father Christian Schwenka and students.

Benedictine College’s President, Stephen D. Minnis, pointed out the previous record for students entering the Church was just four fewer, and it was set last Easter (pictured above).

“This incredible class of students embracing the Church is a testament to the college’s mission to educate in a community of faith and scholarship. Those really are the three things you need to find your purpose in the world: Community, faith, and scholarship, and every decision we make on campus is meant to form students in all three, together.”

Richardson said, “We want to at least propose the faith to all of our students. We don’t want to impose, we do want to propose. I want at least every student here who’s not Catholic to feel that they’ve been invited to consider becoming Catholic.”

Brylie Prawl, a junior nursing student from Lawrence, Kansas, received an invitation after she transferred to Benedictine College last fall. Initially hesitant, she said yes and began the OCIA process.

“My classmates would walk me through Mass and different Catholic traditions and I’ve been going to Mass by myself and I sit with God a lot, and joining the Church is just something I felt really called to do, because I had a really hard time leaving my old school, and so coming here was a big adjustment, and the faith has eased me into that transition,” Prawl said.

Since beginning the OCIA process, Prawl has fallen in love with the faith. She attributes the OCIA classes and her mentor, senior Mackenzie Korzenecki, as critical resources to helping her prepare to enter the Church.

“My OCIA mentor has been a fundamental part of my journey,” Prawl said. “She’s taught me so much because she’s able to answer the questions that I don’t want to ask in class. She always says, ‘if you have a question, just text me. Or if you’re scared to go to mass one day, just text me.’ She has always been such a huge help, as has everybody else who is just so supportive of me.”

Ridley concurs. The OCIA process has been immensely beneficial to him, helping him to learn about the sacraments, different prayers and meet new people.

“OCIA is consistent, you have people that push you to go, but they want you to go out of love and you can feel it,” Ridley said. “The people have helped me so much to grow and understand God a lot more than I did.”

Now, the two are excited to join the Church on Divine Mercy Sunday. Ridley says that he is most excited to receive the Eucharist at Mass. He says that it will be “the coolest thing on the planet.”

“I’m so excited to go to Mass every week and receive the Eucharist,” Ridley said. “I’ve been going to Mass this whole year and I’ve been watching people receive the Eucharist and I’m so excited for my turn.”

After listening to Korzenecki share her personal devotion to the Eucharist, Prawl too is excited to receive the Blessed Sacrament, but she is also thrilled to be in full communion with the universal Church.

“Mackenzie loves the Eucharist. She hypes it up and I always tell her, ‘I am just so excited to feel that feeling after receiving because everybody’s at peace and calm’,” Prawl said. “I travel a lot too, so I am excited to be a member of the universal church and be able to go to church wherever I am.”

By Jack Figge