---

One of Fort Plain's newest Catholics recently gained another title: American citizen.

Sunam Mazzarella, a native of Nepal, came to the United States on a student visa in 2006; she became a citizen last month.

Mrs. Mazzarella said the road to both her religious conversion and her citizenship wasn't easy.

"I had a really rough time with the culture," said the new American, whose native language is Nepali. She learned to write English as a child, but struggled with speaking and understanding it.

"I panicked," she continued - so she dropped out of the Wichita, Kan., school she was attending and moved to New York City to stay with her uncle. There, she enrolled in English classes to keep her immigration status.

She met her future husband, John, who's from the Albany Diocese, on the Internet. They were married by 2008.

Mrs. Mazzarella, raised Hindu, said she initially had liberal beliefs about social issues like abortion, but felt inspired by Mr. Mazzarella's perspective.

"John was very different," she said. "I got very curious about him and his beliefs."

She started attending Mass, though she struggled with the concept of monotheism. But one day while sitting in the Shrine of Our Lady of Martyrs in Auriesville, she suddenly understood her significant other's belief system.

"I was just staring at the cross," she explained. "It was kind of like a revelation. Right there and then, I decided I wanted to be a Catholic."

Mrs. Mazzarella was baptized at St. Anthony's Church in Schenectady. The Mazzarellas and their two boys, Joshua and Daniel, now live in Palatine Bridge and have attended the Our Lady of Hope parish in Fort Plain since 2008.

Mrs. Mazzarella put her studies in early childhood education on hold after the birth of their youngest son. Mr. Mazzarella, a former contractor and realtor, is studying toward a degree in political science.[[In-content Ad]]

---