OCIA members sought a relationship with God

Catechumens, elect and neophytes with their sponsors and Father Norbert Maduzia, pastor of St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church in Spring, after the Easter Vigil on April 4. (Photo courtesy of St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church in Spring)HOUSTON — This year’s group of nearly 3,000 candidates and catechumens who entered the Catholic Church  in the Archdiocese included thousands of individuals from unique backgrounds, professions and states in life.

“All of them have the same attitude, a joyful outlook on becoming Catholic, even if they need help with working through different matters to fully enter,” Deacon Joe Millhouse, OCIA coordinator at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in downtown Houston, said about the individuals in their parish’s OCIA program.

The Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart had 17 catechumens who received all the Sacraments at the Easter Vigil on April 4, and 17 candidates are still preparing to enter the Church on Pentecost Sunday, May 24.

David McMullen, in his early 80s, said he felt drawn to the Catholic Church after being involved in a recent hit-and-run car accident where his life was miraculously spared. McMullen had practiced multiple religions but is thankful to be strengthening his relationship with God through the Catholic faith.

“I became a Baptist, then I went into the military,” McMullen said. “I tried Methodism. Then I tried transcendental meditation, the Buddhist life. I tried all of these different things, but I always felt God-adjacent. That’s the best phrase I can use for it. I was like, ‘Here was God, but I’m adjacent, something didn’t fit, something wasn’t right.’”

Returning to his daily routine after the near-death experience, McMullen felt called to learn more about Catholicism and decided to join the OCIA program in November 2025.

“In all my experiences with all the other religions, you would walk down the front — it could be your first day or 100th day — you would say, ‘I would like to become a member,’ and they would say, ‘Thank you. You are a member. Here is your tithing envelope,’ and that was it,” McMullen said. “(OCIA) was a very amazing program designed to help you understand everything that Catholics believe, world history, history of religion, everything, so that at the end of this time you make a decision that this is what you want.” 

Father Jeffrey Bame, rector and pastor of the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, taught the 33-week OCIA program that left a lasting impression on McMullen. McMullen said that through the classes he attended, he experienced God and no longer feels God-adjacent; he knows God is with him and loves him, and he is enthusiastic about practicing the faith.

“The thought of missing Mass seems totally foreign. It’s the most exciting part of my week,” McMullen said. “I’m studying to really understand what happens from the beginning when you walk in that door to the moment you walk out.”

Married couple Kameron Kardenas and Katelyn Covert from St. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church in Spring found their way to the Catholic Church after Kardenas began questioning the presence of God during a camping trip.

Kardenas and Covert were not religious and had not fully accepted a belief in God, but they began to explore the idea of faith in God by attending their first Mass together on Easter Sunday in 2025 at St. Ignatius of Loyola. Before Mass, Kardenas had a powerful encounter with Jesus that led them to join the OCIA program at the parish.

“It feels very stable,” Covert said. “I moved around a lot as a kid, and God really wasn’t in my life growing up. Now that I know what it’s like to have God in my life, I know it would’ve been easier and so much more meaningful when I was growing up to have that presence. I feel like I finally found home here.”

Originally from California, they moved to Texas to be near Kardenas’ father, who lives in Spring.

“My dad is back in church. He’s in the OCIA program, too. He’s a candidate. He attributes me to getting him back into church,” Kardenas said. “He’s told me he was angry at the Church, but seeing the fervor and fire I have for the Church, it’s a complete 180 for him.”

Kardenas has seen a positive change within both of his parents and in his own marriage since making the decision to enter the Catholic Church. 

“With my wife, we’re growing so much as a family. We’re really locked in together,” Kardenas said.

Both Kardenas and Covert were part of the nine catechumens and nine candidates who were welcomed into the Catholic Church this Easter season at St. Ignatius of Loyola.

“It has been an honor to accompany Kameron and Katelyn, along with the rest of our neophytes, on this journey,” Edgar Barroso, pastoral associate for Formation and Evangelization at St. Ignatius of Loyola, said. “What a joy and humbling experience to be an instrument in helping others discover that they belong and are called to share themselves with others.”