In October 2025, over 20 people, both adults and children, entered the church at Sacred Heart Parish in Newton.
By Dan Russo
The Catholic Messenger
(This article is part of a series.)
During a Mass at Sacred Heart-Newton in October 2025, Tom and Katy Duvall stood before the congregation as part of an unusually large group joining the Church at the parish. More than 20 individuals from four families received multiple sacraments that day.
“It was overwhelming and beautiful,” recalled the couple, writing as one. “It’s kind of like your wedding day – You anticipate it for so long, then it kind of goes by in a blur. It was such a gift to receive the Eucharist and to be anointed with sacred Chrism when we were confirmed. We will cherish the memory of it for all of our days. We are so grateful to be home!”
As the Easter Vigil draws closer, parishes across the Davenport Diocese are preparing to welcome new Catholics. In 2026, the local Church is experiencing a significant jump in the number of adult catechumens and candidates joining, which reflects an international trend in Catholicism over the last several years.
The Church considers people 7 years and older who are joining the Church as “adults” for statistical purposes. According to 2026 estimates, 137 catechumens will become Catholic in the Diocese of Davenport and 273 candidates will come into full communion. In 2025, there were 95 catechumens and 137 candidates. These figures are not official yet, but, if verified, would indicate a roughly 44% increase in catechumens and a 99% increase in candidates from one year to the next (2025 to 2026). Dioceses across the globe have also reported attention-getting increases. (See more details in the March 5 issue of The Catholic Messenger)
This has everyone from church leaders to the people in the pews asking why. The experiences of the DuValls and another couple from Newton who entered last fall — Nick and Josey Vasquez — could provide some insights. Members of these two families were candidates, the Catholic term for already baptized people who are coming into full communion with the Church.
First Steps
Both the DuValls and the Vasquezes were influenced by Aaron Gunsaulus. Their former pastor had been the leader of Newton Christian Reformed Church (CRC) before he became Catholic with his wife and two of their children, earlier in 2025.
“Aaron and Cami’s conversion caused us to become curious and look into what the Catholic Church actually believes,” reflected the DuValls. “The OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation) classes were wonderful and reinforced (or) expanded upon many of the things we had begun to read about and learned. We were so blessed by the faith formation director and his wife. (Luke and Teresa Gregory) are an amazing couple who walked alongside us through the process and gave us so much of their time and care. It was special to go through the process with our friends as well.”
All people joining the church go through OCIA. “The OCIA is intended to be an apprenticeship,” said Deacon Frank Agnoli, director of liturgy and deacon formation for the Davenport Diocese. “It’s not just classes … It’s about becoming part of a larger community.”
New Catholics pose for a photo at Sacred Heart Parish in Newton after entering the Church last October.
Road of a ‘revert’
Catechumens, who are unbaptized, can be called converts, according to Catholic teaching, but candidates cannot. That’s because the Church already considers candidates Christians. Nick Vasquez entered as a candidate, but he could also be classified using a popular slang term —“revert.” Raised Catholic, he was a member of Sacred Heart-Newton in his early years and later left the Church. Personal relationships played an important role in his return, as did intellectual study and exposure to Catholic media.
“The CRC affirms the Nicene Creed, the Apostles Creed and the Athanasian Creed,” explained Vasquez. “It also practices infant baptism. We had been Calvinistic in our soteriology for most of the time that we had been away from the Catholic Church, which frequently put us at odds with the Baptist churches we had attended.”
The Vasquezes had been attending Newton’s Christian Reformed Church for over six years before entering OCIA.
“Going to a more historic denomination opened us up to an older and richer tradition that located us much closer to the Reformation and thus closer to the Catholic Church,” Vasquez said.
Eventually, Vasquez began listening to Bishop Robert Barron and Catholic radio. Vasquez’s brother invited him to participate in activities at a Catholic parish in Des Moines.
“In 2023 I had a watershed moment when my brother invited me to the Latin Mass at his parish,” recalled Vasquez. “It ignited a hunger and a craving for reverence in worship. I would never have left the church had I known this still existed.”
Josey Vasquez had always been Protestant and gradually made her way to Catholicism on her own terms.
Attending a Catholic conference with Nick’s family was an important step. Vasquez also learned about the science behind the Shroud of Turin and listened to a Catholic podcast which told stories about priests’ ministry through exorcism. Experiencing Mass and learning about the Eucharist was pivotal.
“In the early spring I picked up a book from the kitchen table that Nick was reading and turned to a random section, it just so happened to cover the Scriptural explanation for the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, which had long been a sticking point for me,” she reflected. “At that time, I felt a sense that I should give this faith a fair chance.”
Becoming Catholic has been life changing for both families.
“The day we received Holy Communion and confirmation was definitely high emotion …” Josey remembered. “(I felt) excitement and longing to finally be able to participate in the Eucharist. (I felt) joy at seeing the four children receive the sacraments right alongside me and the love I felt having my husband stand up with me as my sponsor as the Holy Spirit was invoked by Father (Bill) Reynolds during communion.”
