Catholic Medical Center in Manchester, New Hampshire, has been Matt Landeck's workplace since he was a teenager. Because of a new program that helps employees explore entry into the Catholic Church, it also has played a major role in his faith journey.
Landeck, 33, is the first and so far only Catholic Medical Center employee to go through its new Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, or OCIA, program. Landeck was received into the Catholic Church in front of friends and family on Holy Saturday this year.
"It was an honor to journey with him," said Marc Guillemette, the hospital's vice president of Catholic identity and mission, who started the initiative.
An OCIA program at a hospital is unusual. The process of educational, spiritual and sacramental formation usually takes place exclusively at a Catholic church. The hospital is sponsored by the Diocese of Manchester, and Bishop Peter Libasci gave the hospital program his permission and support, with the recommendation that candidates go through the rites and be received into the church at St. Joseph Cathedral, just up the street from the hospital.
Guillemette and his wife had been involved in OCIA in his previous home parish in Watertown, Massachusetts, and he had other experience with it. "So it's something I love. I think it's great to journey with people as they enter the church," he said.
He thought promoting a program at the hospital would be a good way to reach people with busy lives.
Sparked by a television show
Meanwhile, the hospital had become a way of life for Landeck, who started out in the kitchen at age 16, moved to various roles, and is now a catheterization lab coordinator. Some of his relatives also work at the hospital. He hadn't been raised in any religion and had considered himself agnostic until one day last fall, when he watched an episode of the TV series The Chosen on Amazon Prime.
The story of Jesus and his walk with the disciples intrigued him, and Landeck watched more.
"I started doing my own research, picked up my first Bible, and then it happened by chance," Landeck said. "I saw Marc's email about him wanting to start OCIA at Catholic Medical Center, so I reached out to him."
Guillemette responded, and in January the two began meeting weekly in Guillemette's office, usually over the lunch hour. They discussed readings from the Journey of Faith series from Ligouri Publications. They also attended Mass and met with OCIA candidates in programs elsewhere in the diocese at St. Joseph during the various rites.
Guillemette said he was impressed by Landeck's curiosity and insights. "He's young, he's got a lot of things he could do, and yet this thirst for God, to learn about the church — it was humbling to be with him," he said. "That he would want to do this is just powerful for me. I was raised in the faith, it's been a part of my life, and for someone to not have that, and then to want it, it's just really like, wow."
A growing group
Landeck's aunt served as his sponsor, and he was received into the church among a group of 333 others in the Manchester diocese. That number reflects a 54% increase in converts, including already-baptized and unbaptized, from last year, according to the National Catholic Register. The newspaper reported that many U.S. dioceses had heavy and sometimes record conversion numbers this Easter.
Landeck's first Mass at the cathedral occurred during a celebration marking the first anniversary of the partnership between HCA Healthcare and Catholic Medical Center. He remembers feeling overwhelmed by the experience.
"You just look up, and you see all the architecture, and you hear all the echoes from the chorus, and the music, and just something inside me was just like — I just got goose bumps," Landeck said.
He credits his newfound faith for helping him be less judgmental of others and able to cope with family members' health issues. "Instead of just blaming something, someone, it's just a different mindset," he said.
Guillemette said he and the hospital will begin advertising the next OCIA program in early fall. He hopes Landeck will be able to encourage others and share his experience.
Landeck said: "You should look into things if you're curious about them. And that's what drove me to want to do this. There's something out there. Look into it, make your own decision. And if it's not for you, it's not for you. If it is, great."