Catholics Returning Home

Carlos Reyna and his wife Anna never expected his job working offshore would interfere with their Catholic faith. But being away from home for two weeks straight made it difficult for their family to attend Mass regularly.

“I worked two weeks on and two weeks off for about four or five months. It felt like an eternity,” Reyna said. “Being gone that long made us want to be more committed to the Church and the Catholics Returning Home program was perfect for us.”

Every year since 2008, St. Peter Prince of the Apostles in Annaville has hosted the program designed to reach out to inactive Catholics, inviting them to return home to the Catholic Church. The program at St. Peter has welcomed 329 individuals back to the Church.

“After my offshore work was done, our daughter began working on her confirmation. Although we had remained parishioners here at St. Peter’s during our absence, we felt we needed to do something to re-energize and refocus our priorities. We also wanted to set the example for our two kids,” Reyna said.

Sally Mews, the founder of Catholics Returning Home—an international program, visited the diocese in 2008 to promote it among local parishes. Deacon Allen Cicora and his late wife Kathryn were instrumental for the program’s longevity and long-term success at St. Peter Prince of the Apostles.

“Catholics Returning Home must be the cause of much joy in heaven,” Deacon Cicora said. Individuals who have been away from the Church are invited to return and are given a warm welcome, Deacon Cicorra said. Some have been away for just a short time, others as long as 52 years. They return to the Church, begin to receive the sacraments again and "are filled with joy—joy that reaches all the way to heaven!”

Annyssa Villarreal began going to the meetings when the class started. She had strayed away from the Church for a year. The week before the meetings started she had been thinking about God and what happens after one dies.

"The thought of not being close to or having a good relationship with God when I died scared me," Villarreal said. "Well, a few days later my mom sat me down and told me about the class because she had gone last year. It was almost like God was telling me to return home, to my Catholic faith."

Going to the meetings helped her realize she was not the only one that strayed from the Church.

"I felt that since I was away for so long, I was a bad Catholic or I could never be as strong in faith as I was before, but in the first meeting the deacon shared that even he strayed away from the church during college but he came back to his faith even stronger than before."

Now, she looks forward to Thursday's every week and because she learns about her Catholic faith she feels at home.

The program consists of six, two-hour sessions. Various subjects are presented in order to help people who have been away from the Church feel more familiar and comfortable with the Mass and the teachings of the Church upon their return. One recent class focused entirely with interpreting the Nicene Creed, line by line.

“The first two sessions focus on welcoming people back. We share stories of faith, by the staff and later by the attendees, as they feel comfortable,” Deacon Cicora said. “At the first session, a priest is invited to speak for 10 minutes, apologizing for anything that might have occurred that resulted in the attendees leaving the Church. No one is pressured to say anything, but welcomed to share their concerns.”

The third through sixth sessions have to do with re-familiarizing individuals with the Mass and the teachings of the Church, including a history of the Church with emphasis on the changes since the Second Vatican Council and a discussion of the Mass, with a visit and tour of the church.

Deacon Cicora added that by the end of the program, the attendees have bonded with each other, becoming fast friends.

“After the sixth session, we have a banquet to celebrate the return of each individual, and provide certificates. At that point, people are usually asking when the next session will be. In fact, we have had several individuals go through the program twice or more, because they found it instructive, enjoyable and warmly welcoming. Every group has wanted to continue with more teaching,” he said.

The program cannot operate without the assistance from active parishioners, so a small staff of returned Catholics assist Deacon Cicora.

“Food and drink are provided at each session, with the main intention of serving those who have come directly from work. Free childcare is provided,” Deacon Cicora said. “The rest of our parish serves the important function of praying for the success of the program, inviting inactive Catholics to participate and displaying yard signs announcing our program.”

Meanwhile, Reyna says listening to everybody’s stories about returning to the church has been inspirational.

“It just motivates you even more to get back into your faith. Some people I know had been gone 10-12 years, proving it’s never too late to come back. One of the things I’ve enjoyed most has been meeting new people. Now, coming to church feels more personal. We feel more welcomed than ever before. Making new friendships has definitely been an unexpected benefit of coming to these classes,” he said.

(For more information on “Catholics Coming Home” visit the website www.CatholicsReturningHome.org or call Deacon Allen Cicora, St. Peter Prince of Apostles at (361) 563-7943.)

Deacon Allen Cicora (left) interprets the Nicene Creed with participants at a recent "Catholics Returning Home" meeting at St. Peter Prince of Apostles Church in Annaville. The group meets for six two-hour sessions on Thursdays at the church to reacquaint themselves on what they have been missing from regular church participation.

Rebecca Esparza for South Texas Catholic