‘And with your spirit’: RCIA students receive sacraments
By Vicki-Ann Downing
Thirty-four students, the largest number in Providence College history, became fully initiated members of the Roman Catholic Church during the RCIA Mass, held on the fourth Sunday of Easter in St. Dominic Chapel.
Through RCIA — the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults — the students met weekly with Rev. Dominic Verner, O.P., assistant chaplain and instructor of theology; Sister Anne Frances Klein, O.P., campus minister; and Kelli Jenney ’19 (Ossining, N.Y.), RCIA student coordinator, for instruction and mentorship in the Catholic faith.
Most Rev. Thomas J. Tobin, D.D., bishop of Providence, conferred the sacraments of baptism, Eucharist, and confirmation at the Mass. Other students participated as altar servers, lectors, violinists, and members of the combined Liturgical Choirs.
Dinio Cijuste ’21 (South Orange, N.J.), a student-athlete on the lacrosse team, learned about RCIA during a team meeting, when Father Dominic introduced himself and said he would be spending time with the team during the academic year.
“I went up to talk with him after the meeting and told him I wanted to get baptized,” said Cijuste.
Cijuste spent his last three years of high school at the Salisbury School, an Episcopal boarding school in Salisbury, Conn., where students and faculty gathered in the chapel twice a week for prayer.
“I looked forward to it,” Cijuste said. “I felt at peace there.”
When he was younger, Cijuste’s mother tried to teach her children about religion, but financial uncertainty made life difficult for the family. Eventually, Cijuste moved into the home of a friend.
“He used to tell me, ‘This is a blessing. Remember everything in front of you, you have to thank God for it.’ I started to see the blessings in front of me and the ones in the past as well. At night, laying in my bed praying, I just felt closer to Jesus and to God, like they were there when I needed them.”
At RCIA meetings, “Father Dominic taught me why God loves us so much and what we can do for him, and that he wants love back,” Cijuste said.
The first person he told about his plan to join RCIA was Ryan Poole ’21 (Huntington, N.Y.), a lacrosse teammate who became his confirmation sponsor.
“The majority of the team came to the RCIA Mass,” said Cijuste. “They didn’t have to come. I guess I feel like a brother to them. I am very close to a lot of those guys. They say it’s a brotherhood. It really meant a lot to me. All the coaches came and our trainer came as well. I was very happy.”
Cijuste is a finance major. He spent the summer of 2018 at a paid internship with Blueprint Capital Advisors in New York City. He was the student coordinator, helping to introduce interns to finance and management through career planning, résumé writing, research and analysis, presentation skills, and community service.
Sarah Lang ’19 (La Jolla, Calif.) grew up in a home of religious diversity. Her mother, born and raised in Afghanistan, is Muslim. Her father was Catholic. When they married, they agreed to allow their children to explore any religion they chose.
But when Lang was 13, her father died, and she found herself “thinking about where he would end up, and I felt like praying was the way I could cope.”
“I always had an interest and love for the faith, and Providence College gave me the opportunity and resources to explore it,” Lang said. She took a theology course taught by Father Dominic.
“He made it interesting and informative and was so kind and tender with everyone’s challenging questions,” Lang said. “Religion can be a tough topic, especially teaching to an audience of various backgrounds. I would meet with him separately and he would answer all my questions regarding the faith and was so patient with me.
“He suggested I enroll with RCIA, and so I did. The more I learned about the Bible, sacraments, and our Lord, the deeper my faith developed. I found peace within God. I found answers I spent years wondering about. It truly is a beautiful program. Becoming a Catholic was a commitment I chose by myself, and it’s something I’m proud to represent as well.
“Becoming a Catholic has truly made me realize the bigger picture of things. I’ve always been kind to others, but I tend to be more compassionate, loving, and accepting. I’ve found peace within my heart, so I try to bring peace to others. Everyone always makes mistakes, but it’s beautiful to know I have God always looking after me and my loved ones.”
Lang is an economics major. During the summer of 2018, she interned as a summer analyst at Goldman Sachs in New York City.
Sayou Cooper ’18 (Pawtucket, R.I.) decided to explore RCIA after watching the baptism of her friend, Jessie Barrios ’18 (Central Falls, R.I.), in St. Dominic Chapel during the RCIA Mass in 2016.
“When I saw her, as a Latina woman, being baptized, I thought, ‘Maybe this something I could do,'” said Cooper. “It was such a cool experience, something I had never seen before. I was overwhelmed with emotion and joy for her.”
When she made the decision to visit the Campus Ministry Center, Cooper was surprised at the ethnic diversity she experienced there.
“There were various people from different cultural backgrounds,” Cooper said. “There was never a sense of race. Once you stepped into the room, you were just someone who wanted to get closer with the faith.”
Cooper credits the mentoring of Father Dominic and Sister Anne Frances with making her comfortable with Catholicism. She attended Mass regularly with Hugh Armstrong ’17, a member of the cross country and track and field teams from Ireland, who helped her learn when to kneel and when to stand.
Her confirmation sponsor was Ann Manchester-Molak ’75, assistant to the president and executive vice president. They met during a campus conversation on diversity and inclusivity when Cooper was a sophomore. There was an opening for a student worker in the president’s office, and Manchester-Molak suggested she apply. Cooper worked there for two semesters.
“She is one of the most generous and kind people I have ever met,” Cooper said. “I don’t know what she saw in me. I wouldn’t have graduated if it wasn’t for her; I was thinking of transferring at the time. She became someone I could lean on. She has a crazy, busy schedule, but she always made time for me. I knew Ann had to be my sponsor. She’s very much a part of my PC journey.”
Cooper spent her first five years in a refugee camp in Ghana before coming to the United States with her mother. They were refugees from the civil war in Liberia.
A double major in political science and history, Cooper studied in London during the second semester of her junior year. She also was a Feinstein Community Fellow. She now is a graduate student at Boston University, studying for a master’s degree in urban affairs. Through BU’s College Advising Corps, she works as a college adviser at Excel High School in South Boston.
