Hi!
I’m Chris, currently in my fourth year at the University of Ottawa Political Science and Public Administration. I moved to Ottawa from St. Catharines to pursue my passion for politics. I usually spend my free time at the gym, reading, in the outdoors, or cooking.
This semester is only my second with CCO. Raised without faith, and having never been baptized, I had my conversion in June 2022 and spent the summer exploring the faith. After coming to understand the validity of the Catholic Church, I found CCO in the hopes of building a Christian community on campus. At the same time, I began RCIA, and will be getting baptized at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Shrine on Holy Saturday. Putting Jesus Christ at the centre of my life was undoubtedly the greatest decision I’ve ever made. The secular life that I chose to put behind me is one that I can never see myself returning to. A late friend last words were: “Place God at the centre of your life and make all your decisions from there”, and I try to live that day by day.
Why do I want to be on Mission?
Building my life around Christ has been an unbelievable experience. The peace, clarity, and confidence that the Holy Spirit has blessed me with is something that everyone should experience. I have lived the secular life and it always left me needing more. People try to seek fulfilment in short-term Earthly pleasures only to be left disappointed. Because I’ve lived that life, I desperately want to help people avoid the trap I found myself in.
Mission is an opportunity for me to spread the good news with people that need it most. Speaking from my previously held beliefs, people have erroneously held beliefs about the Catholic Church and what being Catholic means. Mission is an opportunity for me, a 23 year old, to show the world the energy that the Catholic Church has for the salvation of all through our Lord Jesus Christ.