JSERRA CATHOLIC HIGH School celebrated something extraordinary on May 4. For the second consecutive year, 33 students entered the Catholic Church, receiving the sacraments of initiation through the school’s OCIA program (Order of Christian Initiation for Adults). While JSerra has always been intentional in its faith formation, the recent surge in students responding to the Gospel has stirred both joy and awe—and points to something deeper taking root.
For Pat Reidy, vice president of Mission and Faith, the explanation isn’t formulaic.
“There’s no single reason this is happening,” he said. “It’s not a program you can replicate and get the same result. The way I describe it is that we’re just trying to create fertile soil. We till, we water, we plant—and when the Lord chooses to bring a harvest, we rejoice.”
That posture of humility frames the school’s approach to evangelization. Reidy frequently references 4:26-29, where Jesus says the farmer sows the seed and goes to sleep, and the crop grows—“and he knows not how.”
“That’s how it feels,” Reidy explained. “The Lord is doing something great here. Not because we’re JSerra, but because Christ always chooses to move. And right now, He is moving powerfully among our young people.”
Indeed, that movement is not unique to JSerra. Reidy points to rising vocations in the U.S., a growing Catholic resurgence in the UK, and moments of grace echoing around the world.
“It’s like when John Paul II came to Denver in 1993—the graces abounded for decades,” he said. “Now, especially now that we have an American pope, we should expect to see graces abounding again. There’s every reason to be encouraged. Jesus is still alive, still calling and people— especially young people—are responding.”
At JSerra, the students themselves are at the heart of this renewal. Wyatt Boyd ’25, one of the 33 students baptized this year, speaks candidly about the moment. Raised in an atheist home, he was skeptical until something started stirring.
“There’s something to this Jesus Christ,” he remembered thinking.
That question led him to OCIA and ultimately to Baptism.
BISHOP TIMOTHY FREYER BAPTIZES A JSERRA STUDENT AS PART OF THE OCIA (ORDER OF CHRISTIAN INITIATION FOR ADULTS) PROGRAM. PHOTO COURTESY OF JSERRA CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
“The president of our school, Mr. Rich Meyer, often says that Baptism is the greatest thing we can offer our students, and I wholeheartedly agree,” Wyatt shared. “Out of all the academics, out of four years of water polo, out of everything they’ve given, Baptism is the hands-down greatest thing that JSerra has done for me. It is the most important moment of not only my school life, but of my whole life.”
That spirit of shared transformation is also evident in Rebel Smith ’25, a student leader whose involvement in a variety of activities on campus made her a role model for her peers long before her journey to Catholicism began.
“OCIA has not only built the foundations of my faith,” Rebel said, “it has also opened my mind to a whole other life that I never thought was possible—and that is a life with Christ.”
She’s not alone. OCIA is offered for any student interested in exploring the Catholic faith. Organized in small “pods” led by faculty mentors, the experience creates a space of honest dialogue, spiritual curiosity and personal growth.
History teacher Wade Holmes, who leads an OCIA pod, says it has transformed his relationships with students.
“The trust that builds in OCIA spills over into my classroom,” he said. “It allows for deeper conversations, more openness and real connections rooted in faith.”
The fruit being seen today is the result of many hands tending the soil: theology teachers who present the Church’s teachings with clarity and love, campus ministers who create powerful retreats and opportunities for adoration, NET missionaries who walk daily in discipleship with students and a myriad of other well-formed and faith-filled adults who model a vibrant Catholic life for students and mentor them spiritually.
But the single most important catalyst may be the Dominican sisters who serve on campus.
“The sisters bring a powerful and unmistakable witness,” said Reidy. “In a culture where total devotion to Christ is so rare, their joyful, consecrated presence stands out. They’re like the SWAT team of evangelization—showing our students, in a living and visible way, what it means to belong entirely to God. That awakens a powerful hunger for more.”
Their charism and pastoral instinct have transformed the OCIA process. Spearheaded by Sr. Miriam, JSerra’s OCIA program has shifted in the past three years from a solid initiative drawing 5-10 students a year to a highly visible and dynamic aspect at the heart of the school culture attracting over 50 students per season. Sister’s vision was to create a dynamic program that didn’t only give lip service to the fact that this is the most important thing a young person can do with his or her life; but, rather, proclaimed at every turn that there is nothing more important to the school and nothing more important in life than advancing toward the sacraments.
“Sister is the one who said, ‘We can’t just tell them this is the most important thing—we have to show them,’” Reidy said. “So now we have public celebrations throughout the year, witness talks
led by students at key events, and a huge party after the day of their baptisms so that they can understand that this is the most important moment of their entire lives.”
Sr. Miriam added: “What we’re seeing isn’t the result of one program or one person—it’s the Holy Spirit moving in hearts already hungry for truth. These students are responding because they’ve encountered the living God— often in the quiet of adoration or in a simple conversation. It’s a gift to walk with them as they respond to Christ’s invitation. And it’s a gift to serve in a place where leadership, faculty, missionaries and students are all united in one mission—to seek the face of Christ. The fruit we’re seeing is really a reflection of
that unity and the grace God is pouring
out through it.”
In a culture where faith can feel increasingly distant, JSerra has provided a different narrative: that Christ still calls, and young hearts still respond.
“We’re not doing something flashy or exclusive,” said Reidy. “We’re just watching the Lord do what He always does—bring people home.”