Home / News & Publications / Michigan Catholic News / 2009 / After 48 years of Catholic ties, he's now a member of the Church
After 48 years of Catholic ties, he's now a member of the Church
by Kristin Lukowski of The Michigan Catholic
Published April 17, 2009
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Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Donald White, who entered the Catholic Church this past Easter, often used "Catholicism for Dummies" as a reference to learn about the faith. |
Clinton Twp. Donald White was so involved in the Catholic Church and his children's school, many of his friends were surprised when he decided to join the Church surprised that he wasn't Catholic already, that is.
More than 48 years after getting married at a side altar at St. Joan of Arc Parish, St. Clair Shores, because he wasn't a Catholic, and after raising his children in the Church and even serving as president of St. Joan's Parent Teacher Association, White received all three sacraments of initiation into the faith at his current home parish, St. Thecla, Clinton Township. "It's been in my mind for a long time," he said. "I just decided it was time."
White is one of nearly 1,500 people who joined the Church in the Archdiocese of Detroit fully this Easter. White, who will be 75 next month, occasionally thought about becoming Catholic over the years, but would get busy with his family and doing financial planning (which he still does part-time). He was raised by a Protestant and an Eastern Orthodox, and his parents didn't have him baptized because they wanted him to choose his own faith path, he said. He attended different churches over the years, and "read books about almost every religion," he said.
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Kristin Lukowski | The Michigan Catholic
Donald White surprised his wife of 48 years, Marilyn, when he told her he wanted to enter the Catholic Church. Marilyn, a lifelong Catholic, never pressured him to join the faith. |
Finally, he approached the staff at St. Thecla, where his family had been attending since they moved to the area more than 30 years ago, and began in the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults process last January. Much of what was taught in class he already knew being part of a family of Catholics, having many Catholic friends, and raising his children Catholic but the details were among the things that were new to him.
He hasn't been shy about being inquisitive, he said, asking all kinds of questions during his classes. "It's a learning process, and there's a lot to learn," he said. "I'm getting there."
Being that he likes to read so much, he tried to read the "Catechism of the Catholic Church," then the Compendium, before he turned "Catholicism for Dummies" his copy is well worn and highlighted. "It was to my level," he joked. "I could understand everything."
White found a lot of support in his friends and family, as shown by a "God Bless Don" card that now sits on his mantel, sent from a friend of his wife, Marilyn.
He's also had the support of the parish, being mentioned in the bulletin. "Everyone prays for you how can you feel bad?" he said.
His sponsor, Jerry Fitzgerald, assigned to him by the parish, also was a good guide for him to enter the Church, he said. "He explained things to me," White said. "It made the process a whole lot easier."
Fitzgerald, who also teaches catechism to the parish's fifth- and seventh-graders, said he's seen a change in White even in the short time he's known him. "I've noticed a major transition in how he now does view life and view his role in the world," he said. "You could really see his growth in Christ as he went through the program."
He said although White is jokester, he's also very inquisitive about his faith and asked questions that often led to discussions and got people thinking. "The questions he asked were really great for the whole RCIA program," he said. "I think he's going to be a great asset to our parish," he said. "I think he'll make a great Catholic."
Monday after Easter vigil, White said he didn't feel much differently, although he joked about having a shiny new halo. "Everything went well," he said. "It was a good evening."
When it came time to be baptized, he squealed at the cold water and pastor Fr. Raymond Lewandowski even chuckled, he said. He decided to take communion for his first time on the tongue because he wanted to do it the old way, he said. Marilyn White said not only was she happy to hear her husband wanted to join the Church her mouth dropped open when he told her, she said the process has brought her closer to her faith, too, through his own learning. But over the years, he'd never been anything but supportive of his family being a part of the Church.
"I was surprised but happy," she said of his announcement.
Donald White hasn't really thought any farther that Easter vigil as to how involved he'll be at his parish, he said, although he'll "keep going to church and try to live a good life." "It's a nice, friendly community," he said of St. Thecla.
"He never once said, 'What have I gotten myself into,'" Marilyn White said. "He was very happy."
Donald White also enjoys reading, golfing ("I'm a hacker," he says) and traveling with his wife. They have two adult children and two grandchildren.
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