Coming into Full Communion in Front of a Full House

The spiritual and faith tradition on campus recently reached a major milestone. On April 15, 2026, Saint Ignatius High School celebrated its first-ever Order of Christian Initiation for Adults (OCIA) at an all-school liturgy. Four students received the Sacraments of Baptism and eight students received the Sacraments of Eucharist, and Confirmation. 

Held in Fr. Sullivan Gymnasium, Diocese of Cleveland Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost ’76, celebrated the inaugural liturgy, which was granted with special permission from the Diocese, making this the first instance of Saint Ignatius students being initiated into the Catholic Church through the sacraments of initiation in the history of Saint Ignatius High School. Those eight students were freshmen Michael Mussman, Adrian Schwartzman, Kristian Lynch, Vincent Vanni, Mathias Turner, sophomore Ben Los, and juniors Chase Toth and Brayden Colleran. 

The outreach of the Campus Ministry Department, under the leadership of Ed DeVenney, Director of Campus Ministry, has been building over the past 15 years, as DeVenney worked with local parishes to offer the OCIA process for students. In past years, the formation of the students took place on campus while the sacramental rituals took place at the parish during the Easter Vigil liturgy.

However, over the last few years, DeVenney and Fr. Raymond Guiao, S.J. '82, President and Chief Mission Officer, discovered that, oftentimes, students are looking to Saint Ignatius High School as their faith community and, thus, as their gateway into the Catholic Church. More and more students are seeking the reception of the sacraments and, due to the busyness of the students schedules, it simply made sense to offer the sacraments on campus. Both DeVenney and Fr. Guiao petitioned the Most Reverend Edward C. Malesic, Bishop of the Diocese of Cleveland, to offer the OCIA process throughout the school year. Additionally, the Bishop granted permission for the sacraments of initiation to be offered at an all-school liturgy. This permission was given "ad experimentum" for two years. 

Throughout the school year, formation took place weekly with the campus ministry staff. They also engaged in service activities and retreats, and all took part in the Rite of Acceptance, the Rite of Election and the three Scrutinies during the season of Lent. According to DeVenney, the school is meeting students where they are. “For many students, we are the place where their faith is ignited. Saint Ignatius is their faith community,” says DeVenney. “We certainly want to connect them to parish life, but we also desire to meet their faith needs. If that involves sacramental preparation and reception, we are delighted to be able to offer that and, then, connect them to their parish communities where they can continue to grow and deepen their Catholic faith."

“Quite frankly, the liturgy in front of the student body was nerve-racking but a proud moment,” says Adrian who was baptized at the all-school Mass. “I hope that someone took something away from that experience, as well as maybe encouraged others to go through the OCIA process just as I had.”

Michael shared that, “I chose to become Catholic because as I was growing through my faith,  my mom saw this opportunity and suggested it to me. I knew this would do me well in the future and help me get closer to God.”

As this program builds and expands into reaching the spiritual needs of the student body, the goal is to ultimately establish this as a new faith tradition at Saint Ignatius, celebrating annually the reach of the Holy Spirit’s movement on campus, growing the Church in the heart of Ohio City. 

Be sure to watch a video recap of OCIA ceremony here. This story was originally published in the Spring 2026 issue of the Saint Ignatius magazine, read the full issue here.