An invitation to take the next step in faith

On Pentecost Sunday, Roerica King and her two daughters in their crisp, white dresses distinctly stood out among the congregation at St. Peter Claver Parish, many of whom were dressed in red for the feast day.

On that day, Roerica stood alongside Reagan, 11, and Rosemary, 9, in the sanctuary of the church to receive their first Communion. Earlier at Mass, Roerica was processed to the baptismal font at the back of church where Father Scott Scheiderer poured water over her head, baptizing her in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. The priest then anointed her on the forehead with the holy chrism oil, unleashing the gifts of the Holy Spirit with the sacrament of confirmation.

All of it happened because of a personal invitation from the girls’ Catholic school.

The Kings were among 18 students and family members from St. Louis Catholic Academy who were welcomed into the Church on Pentecost. While the Kings received the sacraments at St. Peter Claver, 15 others received the sacraments at the same time at nearby St. Josephine Bakhita Parish in St. Louis.

Roerica’s journey into the Church started last fall with a phone call from Alice Prince, the school’s director of faith and formation, who asked her if she was interested in having her daughters, then in third and fifth grade, prepare to receive their first Communion.

Roerica’s husband and the girls’ father, Richard, became Catholic more than 20 years ago when he was a student at Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School. Roerica grew up without much formal religion, but the couple decided to get married in the Church and had their daughters baptized Catholic, too. They hadn’t yet taken the next steps for the girls to receive the Eucharist.

So when Alice asked if she, too, was interested in becoming Catholic, Roerica was caught by surprise.

“I thought that was the end of the call, and she’s like, ‘Well, what about you?’” Roerica said. “I considered it over the years, but I had never went through it. She was the first person that ever just came directly to me and asked.”

Reagan and Rosemary were new to St. Louis Catholic Academy this year. Through their participation in religion class and school liturgies, receiving the Eucharist seemed like the next natural step. The girls told their parents that their hearts felt full after receiving their first Communion.

“I was excited, and I know we’ve been waiting for this day,” Richard said. “I was proud of them, and it was something good to see.”

For her part, Roerica said she felt like it was the right moment to take the next step in her faith journey.

“I wanted it to be very clear between me and God, that I wanted to choose Him now, while I was well and fully aware, as opposed to at the end (of my life),” she said. “It was important for me to make that move.”

Evangelization in education

In the fall of 2024, St. Louis Catholic Academy relocated to a new campus in the Carr Square neighborhood of St. Louis, increasing its student enrollment to 181 in grades kindergarten through eight. Three of those students identified as Catholic.

At the beginning of the school year, new administrators sat down with Alice to talk about what they wanted to focus on in the areas of faith and formation with the entire student body.

“The Catholic faith is the foundation of our institution,” said head of school Eric Cooper. “It drives everything we do. So how do we make that more impactful for our students? How does it show up in ways rather than just kids going to Mass (at school) every Monday?”

Several administrators and teachers reached out to families one by one with a personal invitation to learn more about the Catholic faith and attend Christian initiation sessions. In all, they contacted more than 170 families. Thirteen students and five adult family members responded with a “yes.”

Administrators were surprised by the response. “Some parents were like, ‘Yes, right away for myself and my kids,’” middle school director Kwira Vickers said. “Some parents were like, ‘You know, you can ask my student, and if they want to, they’re allowed to, but I don’t want to.’ So we got a varied response. And from that point on, we started with our first list of yeses.”

To prepare for the sacraments, students and families attended sessions over Zoom and in-person retreats. Students also have learned about the faith through their participation in religion class, prayer services and liturgies and other school activities. Middle school students participate in Motivation Mondays, where they discuss topics relevant to their lives through the lens of faith.

“I think what our secret sauce is with our school, is that evangelization is very much a part of education, and it’s our everyday walk,” Alice said. “And when I say evangelization, I mean really helping students realize who they are and whose they are, and helping them on their own journey so that they can have their own agency and their own relationship with God.”

Moving forward

Roerica had long been drawn to faith, with her parents leaving it up to her to decide what church she wanted to be part of. She and Richard met in high school while they were working at the St. Louis Zoo, and she began coming along to Mass with him at St. Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist Church (which later became part of St. Peter Claver).

After they got married and started a family, Roerica said her desire to have a relationship with God became even stronger.

“There was always a pull to become very clear about what faith I wanted to be,” she said. “I think as I’m getting older, and I watch people at the end of their life, and they’re kind of making declarations at the end, I didn’t want that for me.”

Richard said he was beyond happy to witness his wife and daughters make the journey together, and he hopes that they will continue to grow together in faith. “I’m glad this is something we did as a family,” he said.

Roerica’s wish now? “I want goodness and mercy to follow us all the days of our lives,” she said, and “for our lives to be lived in a way that carries out His purpose and to be of service to others. And mostly, I just want us to have God’s love.”