From conversion to married with five children, Tony and Elise Rich say living their faith comes through creative and ordinary ways
During a deployment to Afghanistan, Elise Rich found comfort in going to Mass.
That’s one of the beautiful things about the Catholic Church, she said. You can go to Mass anywhere at any time and — except for the language — it’s going to be the same liturgy no matter where you are in the world.
“I found how special our Church was a lot of times when I was in those military environments,” the U.S. Air Force veteran said.
Elise met fellow Airman Tony Rich while on a pre-deployment training in 2010, and the two began dating by the time they made it to Afghanistan. Tony had been searching for a faith community but had resisted other Protestant denominations because of flaws he found in their teachings. He noticed Elise was going to Mass on Sundays and began asking questions.
“When she drew the connection to, we’re worshiping liturgically the same as (her) parents right now in St. Louis and others around the world, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I cannot believe that that was even a possibility,’” Tony said.
Upon their return to the United States, Elise and Tony grew in their relationship and moved to St. Louis as they finished college. While on a walk through Downtown St. Louis, Tony decided he wanted to join Christian initiation classes. They were engaged on New Year’s Eve of 2011 and Tony was received into the Church four months after their engagement.
The Riches now serve with the Missouri Air National Guard, Elise as a senior master sergeant, who serves as an air battle manager, and Tony as a captain. The two said living their Catholic faith isn’t confined to Sunday Mass — it begins at home. Their Catholic identity is woven into every part of daily life: raising five children ages 2 through 12, nurturing their family’s faith through homeschooling, serving in their parish community at St. Joseph in Imperial and carrying their values into the workplace.
“I was listening to a podcast … and the guy was like, if your identity is in your home as a follower of Christ, if you can get your identity right where you’re a follower of Christ, then the workplace becomes a place where you can love your neighbor, and not where you are striving to earn your identity,” Elise said. “I was so touched by that, because so much in my life I look back, and I was like, was I doing that to show that I could do it? Or, you know, I’ve got to prove myself? If I can just remind myself that Christ calls us to love our neighbors and just do that on the day to day.”
Fostering faith starts with the family, the domestic Church, Tony said. “With five kids, it’s trying to teach and encourage each of us to have a communal relationship and faith, but also an individual relationship with God,” he said. “Because that’s going to be the bedrock for their joy, their happiness for the rest of their lives.”
Tony and Elise find that evangelization comes naturally through living their faith in ordinary and sometimes creative ways. Last year, they started a small company, Trivioso, featuring faith-based card games designed to help parents spark conversations with their children. The company was selected as a finalist in the Warrior Rising competition, a Shark Tank-like competition for veteran-owned businesses.
The idea was born while on a family road trip in 2024, when Tony and Elise were looking for a way to turn downtime with their children into something meaningful. The lineup of games now includes Gospel Trivia, Catholic Trivia and a Go Fish-style game featuring classical art.
Elise and her children also share their Catholic witness through a homeschool community in Jefferson County that they’re part of that primarily includes families from other Christian denominations.
“I think I’ve come to the realization of, just try to spread the Gospel with the people that come in your life that day — and then remind your kids to do it,” she said. “I’ve been asking my kids … did you spread the Gospel today? It’s something to think about. It’s to spread the love of Jesus to others.”
