Everyday Evangelization: Powerful witness story from our Latino Enrollment Office

Beatriz Arellanes, Latino School Enrollment Coordinator, is privileged daily to bring new Latino families into our schools. Please enjoy this recent story she shared with us as part of our ongoing series about families impacted by the culture and experiences in our schools.

A mother named Edith came to my office looking for Catholic schools for their children. At that time, she had a freshman at a local public high school, as well as a daughter and a son in public grade school. They were going through a traumatic experience and the father of her children was in jail. Edith had never had a job before and was facing a tough time. It was because of her Catholic faith that she start taking steps forward, even with her children showing contempt toward the situation. We built a relationship and looked for schools that would be the right fit for them. We were able to enroll this family at Gross Catholic High School and St. Bernadette. At the same time, we were able to enroll the older children in the Steubenville retreat that took place over the summer last year (2018). After they got back from Steubenville, Edith came to my office again and told me she noticed a huge change in her children; she told stories of her daughter bursting into song and dance and that she was healing, free of pain and resentment. But Edith was still afraid that with the time her children would forget their encounter with Jesus Christ at Steubenville. She was glad to see that experiences at school with Masses and positive peer interactions continued to help shape her children. I still keep in contact with Edith and recently she shared that her family remains happy and growing in faith. Her son is even currently discerning about becoming a priest!

God Bless you and your family, Edith!