27 Seton Hall students celebrate Sacraments of Initiation
During the 2026 Easter season, 27 students at Seton Hall University grew in their relationships with Christ by becoming Catholic or completing their initiation into the Church. “I’m immensely proud of them,” said Father Nicholas Sertich, the university’s director of campus ministry. “These exceptionally gifted, faith-filled young men and women are true role models for their peers. I am proud, too, of the good work of our Seton Hall University community in being for our students a true home of the mind, the heart, and the spirit, where they can grow in faith, hope, and love.”
Nine of the students were catechumens and became fully initiated in the Catholic Church on April 12, Divine Mercy Sunday, during a liturgy celebrated by Father Sertich.
A week later, 12 Seton Hall students received their First Communions and the Sacrament of Confirmation, and another six students were confirmed during Masses celebrated by Father John Francis, CSJ, and Father Colin Kay.
“These 27 young adults are sure and certain proof of God’s grace powerfully at work both at Seton Hall and the whole archdiocese,” Father Sertich said.
Finding a home
Mathew, a freshman, said that receiving the Sacraments of Initiation was “without exaggeration, the greatest event of my life thus far.”
He said that he had been “soul-searching” for five years before deciding to enter the Catholic Church, and that he had found a “home” there. “No matter where life takes me, she will always be an immovable presence in my journey,” he added.
Matthew praised the OCIA program at Seton Hall and encouraged other students interested in becoming Catholic to explore the program. “The opportunity to deepen my faith alongside my classmates has been memorable and informative,” he said. “I’ve made friends and learned lessons that will endure for years.”
The celebrations at Seton Hall reflected rapid growth across the Archdiocese of Newark since the COVID-19 pandemic, with 1,701 people entering the Church in 2026.
According to Father Sertich, the experience of the students who went through the OCIA program at Seton Hall offers reasons for optimism that extend beyond the Catholic Church in Newark. “With all the chaos and uncertainty going on in the world, the living witness of 27 of our young adults at the university gives me great hope not only for the future of the Church, but the world overall,” he said.
Students at Seton Hall University can visit the campus ministry website to learn more about the OCIA program and other campus ministry activities.
To view more images of the sacramental celebrations at Seton Hall University, CLICK HERE.
Featured image: Seton Hall students received the Sacraments of Initiation during Easter season Masses on April 12 and 19. (Photos courtesy Seton Hall University Campus Ministry)
