Affirmations and confirmations

Student Brooklyn Garon found peace and affirmation in her choice to become Catholic while sitting in the pews of a church in Spain, where she could only understand part of the Holy Mass.

This spring, Garon was one of 26 UD students to either join or complete initiation into the Catholic Church, all for their own reasons. It is believed to be a record year for student confirmations at UD, consistent with a trend at other U.S. colleges and universities.

Garon, a pre-kindergarten to grade 5 education major and Spanish minor, journeyed the Camino de Santiago last year. She participated in the parts of Mass offered in Spanish, and listened with her heart when the liturgy shifted to Latin. In that moment, she said she realized all of the pilgrims, foreigners and locals shared a language that wasn’t spoken — Catholicism.

“Seeing people come together in the same faith tradition from completely different backgrounds who otherwise wouldn’t be connected, that reaffirmed to me that I want to be a part of this — I have to be a part of this,” she said.

“Seeing people come together in the same faith tradition from completely different backgrounds who otherwise wouldn’t be connected, that reaffirmed to me that I want to be a part of this — I have to be a part of this,” she said.

Garon grew up Protestant and believed Catholicism to be “just another Christian denomination.” When she came to UD and got involved with Campus Ministry and the Office for Mission and Rector, and attended Mass, she learned about Catholicism. As a result, she grew closer to her faith and herself.

“Through those experiences, I met friends who were Catholic, I got to know what it means to be Catholic and what Catholics believe, and when I experienced the Mass and the Catholic belief in the Eucharist, I knew that was the highest form of praise,” she said. “I hungered to genuinely be a part of that.”

In April 2026, Garon was baptized and confirmed in the Catholic Church during ceremonies in UD’s Chapel of the Immaculate Conception.

Of the 26 confirmations, Garon was one of eight students in the 2025-26 academic year who went through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, the process of taking part in sacramental preparation and joining the Catholic Church. The other 17 students completed their initiation through the Sacrament of Confirmation.

“It is quite an increase compared to the number of students I’ve worked with in the past several years,” said Katie Mathews ’25, campus minister for liturgy and sacraments, who works closely with the OCIA and confirmation students. She said most groups ranged between one and five students per autumn or spring semester.

She said the students who participate in OCIA are “actively deciding that this is something they value” — rather than simply checking a box. 

"Choosing confirmation as an adult feels like finally stepping into the person I’m meant to be,” said Joseph Ellis-Vela, who joined OCIA before his confirmation in November 2025.

Ellis-Vela grew up Catholic but missed confirmation when he was younger due to the travel demands of football. He was the only child in his family who wasn’t confirmed, unlike his brother and their 16 cousins.

“My mother always told me that as much as she wanted me to get confirmed, she never pushed it with me as much as she did with my brother,” he said. “At some point she was like, ‘When you’re ready to go learn this, be a part of the religion and a part of the faith, we’ll be right behind you.’”

And she was. After weeks of preparation, Ellis-Vela stood before Father Bob Jones, S.M. ’98, in the Chapel of Immaculate Conception with his mother’s hand on his shoulder as she, his sponsor, stood witness to his confirmation.

Now Ellis-Vela, who is planning to graduate in December with a criminal justice degree, is dreaming of his future while rooting himself in his Catholic identity.

“I plan to enter the police academy, and I know the work will be unpredictable,” he said. “I don’t want to just be a face in the crowd. I want to be a helping hand for people on their worst days, and my faith gives me the peace to lead with my heart.”

Garon and Ellis-Vela are part of the growing number of students pursuing confirmation across the U.S. This includes numbers reported by Catholic institutions, such as Notre Dame and Loyola University Chicago, as well as public schools like Miami University in Ohio.

Mathews believes there are a number of reasons to explain the trend — maybe a family moved and didn’t connect to a new parish; perhaps a student didn’t want to be confirmed as a child; or parents separated or divorced. This year, she said she saw a sizable group whose confirmation journey was derailed because of the pandemic.

Jones, University chaplain who works closely with OCIA students and Mathews, agreed, noting the growing interest in faith life and Catholicism across the country, including at dioceses from Detroit to Galveston-Houston in Texas.

“I think current world events, the pandemic and the rise of technology, to name just a few things, are helping young adults realize there is more out there and to seek a more profound meaning in life which our faith and relationship with God can provide for them,” he said.

Ellis-Vela and Garon had different reasons for seeking confirmation as college students, but they shared one similarity — both praised the process at UD and the support they received. 

“I don’t think I would have become Catholic if it wasn’t for going to UD and having this Campus Ministry community,” Garon said, listing her involvement with Campus Ministry, including Service Saturday, UD Summer Appalachia Program, retreats and other programs.

“The fellowship, mentorship and nourishment Campus Ministry has offered, it was instrumental. I think it would have taken me a lot longer to discover the Catholic faith if I didn’t have a Campus Ministry that invested so much in me.” 

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JULIA DASCHBACH ’26 AND ARUMI ORTIZ

A version of this article appears in print in the Summer 2026 University of Dayton Magazine, Page 13. EXPLORE THE ISSUE — MORE ONLINE