Our life experiences all work together to shape who we are and who we become. For Norwich resident Dayne Rugh, truer words were never spoken.
Dayne, a native of Groton, spent his childhood attending Sacred Heart School from kindergarten through eighth grade. Sacred Heart was his home away from home as a child. His mother worked in the school library, and his sister attended the school as well. He participated in all the activities and religious traditions like the other children in the school. He learned about Catholicism and took part in Mass and other religious ceremonies.
One detail, however, makes Dayne’s story especially striking: he was not a baptized Catholic or Christian. When he was in second grade, one of his teachers asked him, “You are not Catholic; what are you?” His answer was both honest and revealing: “I don’t know.”
After graduating from Sacred Heart School, Dayne went on to public high school and then college. During those years, he attended several other churches and made meaningful friendships and connections. Yet he was still searching for something he could not identify or fully understand at the time.
Dayne’s life journey eventually brought him and his wife, Regan, a native of Norwich, to the Rose City to settle down. Regan took a job at the Historical Society, and Dayne began working as the Museum Educator for the Slater Memorial Museum at Norwich Free Academy. He was later promoted to director.
As he drove around town, Dayne often passed Sacred Heart Church in Norwichtown. Over time, he began to think about attending Mass there one Sunday. He described feeling a “tug in his heart,” one that brought him back to his childhood memories of Sacred Heart School in Groton.
One Sunday, he finally decided to go. As he crossed the parking lot, he recognized a fellow parishioner attending Mass: his eighth grade teacher, Mrs. Jane Murphy. He greeted her, and she warmly invited him to sit with her and her husband. Dayne has been attending Mass at Sacred Heart ever since. He describes the parish, the pastor, and the parishioners as “lovely and welcoming.”
Dayne said that during that first Mass as an adult, he felt as though he had “come home.” His childhood memories of Sacred Heart School and Catholic traditions came rushing back. He knew the parts of the Mass and responded as though he had been there just the day before. He describes his faith as “always being inside of me, just waiting to emerge.”
In the fall, Dayne entered OCIA, the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, under the guidance of parishioners Bob and Ann Ricca. The OCIA process has greatly enriched both his life and his faith. As a historian, he especially enjoys reading and studying the origins of the Catholic Church. The rich history of our more than 2,000-year-old faith has revealed more meaning and depth than he ever expected. The more he uncovers, the more he desires to know and understand.
Dayne has always been fascinated by what people do and why they do it, so diving more deeply into the study of Catholicism has been a natural fit. The more he learns about the Church’s history, the more connected he feels to its mission. That sense of connectedness continues to reaffirm the significance of faith in his life and in the world.
When asked why he entered OCIA and became a catechumen in the Diocese, Dayne said, “For me it was a matter of listening to my soul, which is often hard to hear and understand.” He believes that inside each person is the “true version of yourself,” and that life’s journey, including the spiritual journey, is how that true self is discovered and uncovered.
OCIA stands for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults, formerly known as RCIA. It is the Roman Catholic Church’s process for welcoming new members, offering spiritual formation, and preparing adults to receive the Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist. It is a journey of faith and conversion centered on Catholic beliefs and practices. The purpose of OCIA is to introduce adults to the beliefs, life, liturgy, and apostolic work of the Catholic Church.
Adults who would like to learn more about the OCIA process are encouraged to contact a Catholic church in their area. The parish can connect them with the pastor and an OCIA team member. Each parish forms an OCIA team to accompany the individual through the stages of initiation, sharing their own faith journeys along the way. The team supports and encourages the catechumen as he or she grows more deeply in the Faith.
The parish and its ministries also help support the catechumen and often welcome them into the Church at the Easter Vigil Mass. It truly “takes a village” or, in this case, a parish, to prepare someone to enter the Church. When everyone works together and does their part, the OCIA process becomes deeply meaningful for all involved.