Students finding fullness of faith

This fall, she'll also become his wife.

Mr. Wissenbach was one of nine people who participated this year in Siena's Fullness of Faith program, a Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults project modified to fit a college calendar.

The candidates and catechumens became full members of the Church during a recent Mass celebrated by Bishop Howard J. Hubbard at St. Mary's of the Angels Chapel on the Siena campus.

Coming to Church

"I always had a belief in a higher power," he said. "When I met Danielle, her whole family was Catholic. It was semi-threatening in the beginning because I felt awkward in church. I didn't understand what was going on."

His wife-to-be supported his choice to convert wholeheartedly. "I was really happy," she said. "In marriage, religion plays an important part. I was honored that I played a role in his life like that. Faith plays a large role [in my life]. I derive a lot of strength from it, especially now with everything spinning because of graduation and getting married."

Comfort level

According to Brother Michael Harlan, OFM, campus minister at the college, the program is for Siena College students, staff and alumni. Each year, the program begins in October. Participants meet for 90 minutes every Sunday evening while school is in session.

The witness of the young people in the Fullness of Faith program is one of the highlights of Brother Michael's job. He said young adulthood is a time when many young people question their faith and don't attend Mass on the weekends.

"It's an age of rebellion. There are a number of students who do rebel," he said. "The young people in the Fullness of Faith program inspire me. It helps me renew my own faith."

Moving day

Robin Hunt, a 1994 Siena graduate and a catechumen, said: "The Baptism was the most moving experience for me. I was almost crying with the feeling that came over me. It felt so unbelievable. I took the next day off from work, and the feeling carried on. I could smell the oil for days. It was such a beautiful smell."

While Miss Hunt was not raised in any faith tradition, she had spent a number of years trying to find a place to worship. "I had gone on a search for religion," she said. "I visited the Episcopal Church, and I had friends and family who were Catholic."

Now that she is Catholic, she said. "I feel so complete and at peace."

Confirmed in faith

Confirmation was an emotional experience for him. His grandparents had traveled from Cleveland, Ohio, for the event.

"The highlight," he said, "was when I came up and knelt down to be confirmed, and my grandfather was standing behind me. Communion was special, too. It had been a while [since I received], so it deepened the meaning for me."

Receiving communion was also important for Holli Roberts, a recent graduate who was raised a Methodist. "The highlight was when we had the Eucharist," she said. "The anticipation for it was pretty big for me."

Community feeling

According to Brother Michael, the presence of young adults at Siena's liturgy is one factor that attracts non-Catholic college students to the Church.

"The best evangelizers are the students themselves," he said. "They invite their friends and roommates to come to Mass."

"When I came to Siena last year," Miss Roberts explained, "I started thinking about [converting]. I wanted to do it at Siena because I liked the community. There's a lot of encouragement. You don't see a lot of young people in this world going to church, but here it's okay to love God."

Right choice

"For me, it was a choice," Mr. Wissenbach said. "It was me reaching towards something."

Miss Roberts, who was raised with two religious traditions, had been searching for a while to find a tradition to embrace.

"I was brought up Methodist, but every weekend I went to both Methodist and Catholic services," she said. "I spent the weekend with my grandparents and went to Mass with them, so I was experiencing both. I attended Catholic schools, too. I went to St. Mary/St. Alphonsus, then to Saratoga Central Catholic. I had a good Catholic background, even though I was not Catholic.

"I've become more serious about religion. Faith is a bigger part of my life now. I think converts make the best Catholics. We make a choice to learn because we want to learn. In school, we all took religion regardless if we were Catholic. I was always curious because I wasn't Catholic. I think when you're raised Catholic, you don't ask a lot of questions."

Into the world

However many of them have a sense of connection to the community at Siena and decide that for this step on their faith journey, Siena is the place for them.

Brother Michael likes to prepare all students, including those in the Fullness of Faith program, on what it takes to find a parish community once they leave campus.

"I wonder what's going to happen to them when they leave here," he said of all of the students he works with in campus ministry. "I want them to find a community where they're nurtured. I try to talk to seniors when they leave to challenge them to find a place and to encourage them to use their skills that they learned here in a parish."

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