VALPARAISO – It is said that the Easter Vigil Mass is one of the most ancient liturgies of the Catholic Church. This glorious service celebrates the redemption of believers in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and, through the modern age, serves as an official welcome to new Catholics.
On the chilly night of April 19, the elect of St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Student Center gathered with presider Bishop Robert J. McClory, chaplain Father Jacob McDaniels, Opus Dei Father Frank Vera, collegiate altar servers and family and friends around a firepit. From the flames was lit the paschal candle, and from it, individual candles of the faithful.
Inside the cozy church, worshippers found their seats to continue the first of the two major parts of the vigil. Deacon Chris Hawkins sang the Exsultet, an Early Church hymn reminding the faithful that “this is the night …Christ broke the prison bars of death.” Those seeking full communion with the Church were seated closest to the sanctuary with their sponsors and friends.
The Service of Light ended when those present extinguished their candles. A new spark of inspiration began as the Liturgy of the Word, with several readings including required Old Testament selections such as a creation account and Abraham’s test from Genesis, were accompanied by responsorial psalms.
Lectors such as Nancy Lowhorn proclaimed from the New Testament. She read an Epistle (Romans 6:3-11), where believers heard that “just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we, too, might live in newness of life.”
In his homily, Bishop McClory spoke of the 2018 Tham Luang cave rescue, where a group of youth soccer players and their coaches became lost in a cave in Thailand. A monsoon trapped them in a cavern where they lacked any light or provisions.
More than a week later, international rescuers reached them and began coordinating individual rescues. Eventually, all of them were brought to safety.
“Twelve boys and coaches all found themselves huddled, trying to survive … completely cut off from the world,” Bishop McClory said. “They didn’t realize the manhunt that was on the way to rescue them … Can you imagine when suddenly a light comes into that setting? Just the joy of the light illuminating and suddenly there’s hope, there’s someone here; they’re coming to save us.”
Bishop McClory spoke about the imagery of the paschal candle lighting up the formerly darkened church that night.
“Light has come. And so for us, that light, if we might feel trapped, is truly Jesus Christ,” he said. “Some live lives of discouragement and hopelessness … Jesus doesn’t want us to live that way.”
The rite for the blessing of water followed with the diocesan shepherd praying while he dunked the base of the paschal candle into the basin. The actions recall aspects of creation “the Spirit hovered over the waters” and point to the water that flowed from Jesus’ pierced side on the cross.
Seven individuals, mostly college-age, presented themselves to receive the sacraments of initiation. baptism, the first channel of grace to be celebrated, allowed the catechumens to formally become Christians, as the bishop used a metal shell to scoop water and rinse it over their heads.
Confirmed in the faith by the Holy Spirit and supported by their sponsors, the newly initiated each prepared for their First Holy Communion. They were summoned before the general congregation.
Trevor Galambus, 24, was surrounded by family and friends whose excitement rivaled that of the former catechumen.
“A lot is going on right now; I just took on three sacraments within two hours. It’s honestly overwhelming, but it’s really an exciting day,” Galambus said. “There was one lady who was sitting behind me, and she told me she’s never seen someone who was so excited ... My mom was crying, too.”
He continued, “I’m looking back at my friends; I have a whole line of people who are so hyped for me and I’m mouthing, ‘Let’s go!’
A self-described former agnostic or atheist, Galambus said he began to read the Bible in 2023 and began to attend Mass at St. Teresa with his girlfriend.
“I came to the conclusion that everything in this book right here is true, and I want to follow it to the best of my ability. Learning more about the Christian faith and tradition and everything that has to go with it, is eventually what led me here to the Catholic Church,” he explained.
Steven and Debbie Niceforo from Oak Lawn, Ill. described their son as a kind person.
Dominic Niceforo, 22, is studying AI cybersecurity at Valparaiso University. He attended a back-to-campus outdoor cookout at St. Teresa, where he met friends and a mentor.
“Originally, I met Rocco Hutter (my sponsor) in my junior year,” Niceforo said. “So, he introduced me to Mass. And, at first, I was a little hesitant … some of the time was spent away from the Church, but over the next summer, I started feeling a calling to the church.”
Already baptized, Niceforo was confirmed and received his First Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil. He viewed the ‘congratulations’ offered by many people at the church as an enthusiastic witness of his faith journey.
“Congratulations, in my view, is just a way to (acknowledge) the culmination of a story that you end up creating," he said. “Starting all the way in the beginning, exploring your faith and getting me to this point where all of this suddenly starts to click together.”
Hutter, a FOCUS missionary from Detroit, said welcoming new believers into the Church is the high point of his ministry.
The unconditional love of Christ enveloped Erica Castillo. A dark feeling lifted from her soul when she was baptized in the sanctuary of St. Teresa.
“I should just start the story with the fact that I’ve had a really bad couple of days; I haven’t felt very joyous, very Godly,” Castillo, a 24-year-old social work major at VU, said. “Before I had taken the baptism, I was speaking to God myself and I was like, please walk with me after this, please be next to me after I do this. I want this new life; I want to follow in your footsteps.”
Castillo said her family attended church sporadically and that she did have some summer camp experiences as a youth, but she hadn’t gotten to “know God on a personal level.”
“I thought baptism was going to be very sorrowful or painful, and when I actually got up there, and I felt the water on me, I was so gleeful, just full of happiness. I felt like a kid at Christmas. I even started giggling.”
Life’s pain was not erased but put into perspective, Castillo said.
“The more I learn about Jesus Christ, the more that I realize that I am not alone, my pain and suffering, He felt it, he carries it, he understands it.”
Different from a worldly kind of love, Castillo said the minute she let God into her heart, she felt valued.
“Love always seemed to come with conditions and expectations and limits, but Jesus’ love is really different. It’s vast and unwavering and completely undeserved and it’s for everybody. He loves me for who he created me to be,” she explained.
Caption: After being baptized, Cale Mendenhall (center) uses his sacramental candle to light the votive lamps of family members during the Easter Vigil on April 19, at St. Teresa of Avila Catholic Student Center in Valparaiso. Seven individuals formally joined in full communion with the Catholic Church before a capacity congregation of worshipers. (Anthony D. Alonzo photo)
