Alex Soucy, a 2023 graduate, is an example of someone living the missionary charism of evangelization that is the vision of Holy Apostles College & Seminary. Alex is the co-founder of Crossroads 4 Christ (C4C), an organization that brings young adults together to form communities of missionary disciples. Crossroads 4 Christ enables young adults to gather and discuss Christ in an environment that seeks to better their relationship with the Lord.
Alex was born into the Catholic faith but considered it simply one of the many facets of his life. Then, in his senior year of high school, he attended an impactful retreat that changed him. For one thing, prayer became part of his daily routine.
In college, Alex became part of a faith community. Upon graduating, however, he experienced the lack of a solid community of young adults at the parish level. After traveling to see Pope Francis in Philadelphia during the Holy Father’s 2015 U.S. visit, Alex and his friend, Travis Moran, formed Crossroads 4 Christ, taking to heart the pontiff’s call to be missionary disciples and servant leaders.
On October 1, 2015, they held the first C4C meeting at the Willimantic Brewing Company with two other people. After some time for discussion of faith, everyone traveled to St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel in Storrs for a Holy Hour of Eucharistic Adoration, which served as the focal point of the evening. The group only grew from there.
Before they knew it, they had 25-30 young adults attending at the first chapter in Columbia, Connecticut. Then came a chapter in New Haven in January 2017. There are now seven chapters throughout Connecticut and all three dioceses are interested in increasing that number. There has also been extraordinary interest regionally. Launching each new chapter, however, takes training, work, and time.
The mission of C4C is to develop communities of young adult missionary disciples, and the payoff is that young adults are encountering the Lord. As Rev. Anthony Federico, the Vocations Director of the Archdiocese of Hartford, wrote in a letter about Crossroads 4 Christ, “It is not a stretch to say that C4C is the brightest and most promising initiative in the Archdiocese of Hartford today.” He went on to say that “a disproportionate number of young men from C4C are coming forward to discern a vocation to the priesthood.” That news is exciting.
After years of self-study about the Catholic faith, Alex felt the desire to further this spiritual formation in a formal setting. He was somewhat familiar with Holy Apostles through its hosting of Catholic Underground in years past. When examining further, Alex explained, “I started to hear about some of the fantastic alumni of Holy Apostles, like Matt Fradd, Trent Horn, and Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, and thought, ‘This college is 10 minutes away from me, and people who are really well-respected, well-known leaders in the Catholic world in the U.S. have received amazing formation from Holy Apostles.’” He also learned that it was very affordable, truly faithful to the Magisterium, and on the Newman Guide, which added to the selling points for him.
Finally, he felt that the online asynchronous format with its flexible schedule was a good fit, and he enrolled.
In 2023, Alex received his Master of Arts in Pastoral Studies with a concentration in Youth and Young Adult Ministry, which he feels strengthened him personally in his faith and equipped him to be the leader that the Lord is calling him to be at C4C.
Regarding Holy Apostles, Alex explained, “The Lord gave C4C an effective model of young adult ministry that so many parishes and dioceses are searching for. But at Holy Apostles I learned more at a macro scale that there was need throughout the nation for more of this, so that was helpful.”
When asked to reflect on his 10-year journey with C4C, Alex paused. “There is a mystery behind who the Lord calls for specific roles. Sometimes I think, ‘Wow, Lord, you called me to be one of the co-founders and executive director of now what is the largest parish-based Catholic, young adult ministry in New England…’ It’s humbling. But I think the saying, ‘The Lord doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called’ is spot on.” Alex went on to say, “Calling myself, calling Travis, calling over 100 servant leaders, at this point, over the past 10 years to step up and be a part of this revival in the state of Connecticut. That’s been a great honor and blessing.”
Holy Apostles was proud to learn that one of our alumni participated in the first Mass of the newly elected Pope Leo XIV. Sister Mary Mercy Lee, FSE, MA ’11, PMC ‘17, proclaimed the first reading in English at the Mass that took place on May 9 in the Sistine Chapel.
Image credit: Vatican News Youtube Live Broadcast
Sister Mary Mercy received her Master of Arts in Theology at Holy Apostles prior to discerning her vocation as a religious sister. At that time, her given name was Robyn Lee. In 2016, she entered the novitiate of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist in Meriden, CT, and professed her perpetual vows in May 2024. During discernment and while in the novitiate, she studied at Holy Apostles and received her Post Master’s Certificate in 2017.
After her profession of vows, Sister Mary Mercy was assigned to work at the Vatican, where she serves in the English language section at a Vatican office. As relayed in a Facebook post by the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist, Sister Mary Mercy considered it a privilege to proclaim the first reading at the Holy Father’s first Mass for the cardinal-electors.
At Holy Apostles, we share the excitement about our new pope. As President-Rector Rev. Peter Kucer, MSA, stated in his email of joy upon Pope Leo’s election, “We welcome him with hearts full of hope and prayers, trusting that the Lord will continue to guide His Church through the humble service of the Vicar of Christ.”
Watch Sister Mary Mercy as she proclaims the first reading at Pope Leo XIV’s first Mass.
Sr. Naomi Zimmerman at Mass at the Tomb of Christ.
Sister Naomi Zimmermann, FSE, is a woman whose calling has brought her to many places with the objective of providing missionary services to others. Of all her work, the longest time spent has been in the Holy Land, a beautiful and historic area that many people wish to visit but some choose to avoid due to the many conflicts that have occurred. Instead, Sr. Naomi has returned time and time again to work with those in need.
Sr. Naomi grew up in Southington, Connecticut, a town that neighbors the Meriden motherhouse of the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist. After receiving a degree in education, she entered the postulancy in September 1988. Working for several years as a teacher in both Oregon and Minnesota, she then returned to Connecticut and became a student at Holy Apostles, earning a Master of Arts in Moral Theology in 1996. Sr. Naomi explained, “It was a valuable time for me because I was already a teacher but had grown up in the public school system. I remember thinking that I needed to know more theology to integrate it into my work as a teacher.”
Working with the children in the Holy Child Program, a unique educational and psychological treatment center in the Bethlehem area.
Her first trip to the Holy Land took place in 1996, shortly after graduating from Holy Apostles. She worked at The Holy Child Program, a unique educational and psychological treatment center in the Bethlehem area, and found the experience wonderful preparation for entering her final vows.
Returning to the motherhouse in 1997 to take her final vows, Sr. Naomi remained in the U.S. for two years. In August 2000, she returned to the Holy Land to continue at the Holy Child Program, this time as deputy director and educational consultant.
Because of her love of both the Holy Land and the people within the Palestinian society, which is where the Holy Child Project was located, acclimating to life in this land was not as hard as one would think. She was very involved in the daily lives of the Palestinian people and the Arab-speaking Church. In September 2000, however, the second Intifada started an intense time that lasted until February 2005. In the midst of that came the tragedy of September 11, 2001, and the fighting in the Middle East that followed, bringing increased tension and security issues.
In 2006, when the Franciscan Sisters of the Eucharist decided to start a center in Jamaica, Sr. Naomi worked there for four years. In 2011, she returned to Jerusalem but gained a completely different perspective working in the Old City Jerusalem with the Franciscan Custody, while also consulting for the Holy Child Program.
Sr. Naomi looking out on the Old City Jerusalem.
In 2017, the sisters moved closer to the heart of Jerusalem, to the compound of the Capuchin Friars, which is in the heart of a Jewish neighborhood. Her work, first in the Secretariate of the Custody, and now in the Christian Information Center has enabled her to build relationships with more Israeli people, allowing for a fuller understanding of the people and land where she has lived for so long. As she said, “Both the Palestinians and the Israelis are diverse people with ancient histories and immense talents.”
Language continues to be difficult for her to master. She has learned some Arabic for basic communication, Hebrew, and basic Italian, but joked, “I provide entertainment when I attempt to speak Arabic and Italian comes out.” Simple sentences usually work, and phone translators have proven to be amazing tools.
The war that began on October 7, 2023, has reignited the divisions and suffering between Palestinians and Jews. Living in Jerusalem, Sr. Naomi explained,
“Most of the time we can forget that there is a war around us. But it is eerily quiet, people are tense, things are extremely expensive. Every once in a while, a rocket is sent this way, and we have sirens. And your heart rate spikes, and you go to your protected area until you get the signal that you can go out again. And you pray for the people who have experienced this 10 times a day for months, and who have left their homes. And you pray for those who took no part in what happened in Gaza on October 7 but are suffering the consequences.”
The sisters, Sr. Naomi and Sr. Maria David – also a graduate of Holy Apostles – stayed because they felt that they were not in danger, but also because they want to be hope for the Christian communities, who feel they are caught between other people’s conflicts.
Sr. Naomi’s experiences have given her a new perspective on what being a missionary means. “It is about the people we serve and what they need at a particular moment, not what we have to offer them.” She feels that this 2025 Jubilee Year of peace and hope will offer strength to the Christian communities in the Holy Land.
Rev. Wade Menezes, CPM shares how he was led to the priesthood, to the Fathers of Mercy and to his important ministry today.
Fr. Wade is a summa cum laude graduate of the Holy Apostles Class of 2000, with dual Master of Arts in Theology and Master of Divinity degrees. Coupled with prior degrees in journalism and communications, he has been successful in his utilization of TV, radio, and print to evangelize as a priest.
Fr. Wade is also the host of EWTN Global Catholic Radio’s Open Line Tuesday and has been featured on other stations, such as Ave Maria Radio, Guadalupe Radio Network, Catholic Broadcasting Northwest, and more.
At the 66th Commencement Ceremony in May, Fr. Wade received an Honorary Doctorate of Moral Theology for his impactful work in evangelization. He emphasized in his commencement speech that we are all called to “defend truth and faith as our Catholic calling.”
Several months ago, my daughter and I attended a retreat at our parish with her 9th grade religious education class. I had seen the speaker, Sean Forrest, previously with my son, and was impressed by his excellent manner of engaging parents and teens as he spoke about his journey of faith progressing from openly demonstrating contempt for religion to identifying Catholicism as the one true faith.
Sean is an alumnus of Holy Apostles College and Seminary, and the Catholic teaching he intertwines with stories about his life are clearly traditional Catholic lessons that anyone at Holy Apostles would recognize. His ability to speak accurately and persuasively about the Catholic faith and evangelize to students and parents, who many times don’t want to be there, is remarkable. He has been the invited speaker for this retreat at our parish for roughly 24 years for that reason.
Sean speaks openly about his progression to Catholicism. He enjoyed a successful career in music– writing songs and playing in large nightclubs, and ski and beach resorts. He played to audiences that included Billy Joel, Christie Brinkley, Alec Baldwin, and Jennifer Garner and played on stage with artists like Vince Gill and The Marshall Tucker Band. He had no use for religion and described his past self as an angry atheist. Although he seemingly had everything anyone could want, he felt something was missing. Over time, using faith and reasoning, he encountered Christ and began on a new path.
His new journey led to the role of youth minister at St. James Church in Stratford, Connecticut, and a few speaking engagements at different parishes. He began sending letters to other parishes, offering to speak about his conversion, and by year three he was booked two years in advance. In his speaking engagements, Sean explains the evidence of God’s existence to others using the same reasoning that helped him come to believe. Sean has been praised by the Most Rev. Peter A. Rosazza, D.D., Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Hartford as “an outstanding witness to Jesus and to the church and her heritage,” and by the Most Rev. William E. Lori, Archbishop of Baltimore, who stated, “With song, humor, stories, and serious teaching, Sean exemplifies the New Evangelization to which the Church calls each of us.”
During this time, Sean continued with his music– producing, writing, and recording nine CDs. There was still more to the journey, though. Sean realized he was not helping the poor. With God’s grace, he chose to travel to the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, Haiti, to minister to those who had nothing. The trip left him profoundly moved, and he prayed that if it were God’s will, he would be able to build an orphanage. God responded, and the orphanage was built, and the organization Haiti180 was founded. Sean serves as co-founder, president, and mission leader.When the orphanage was completed, Sean and Haiti180 built a chapel as a reminder for everyone to keep Christ at the heart of everything. After that came a school with 350 students who will speak three languages upon graduation.
Sean next wanted to help the lonely elderly, who many times die alone in their huts. With God’s help, Haiti180 built a home for them, and they and the children began developing grandparent-style relationships. In 2020, Haiti180 completed a state-of-the-art medical facility that will help thousands with urgent care, maternity, dental and eye, cardiology, radiology, and lab work. Women are able to give birth in a safe place instead of their huts and people do not have to walk for hours to receive treatment.
In addition to the speaking engagements, music writing and production, and mission work, Sean enrolled at Holy Apostles College and Seminary in 2006. “I truly just wanted to keep knowing more about this amazing faith. Holy Apostles was a great choice because it was solidly Catholic, and the instructors were so engaging.” In May 2011, he earned a BA in Theology. Sean’s journey is one of a man who had everything the secular world says is important: money, a condo on the beach, boats, and cars. And yet he recognized he was missing something. Once he embraced God and trusted His plan, he was able to do so much for so many. As he said, “Through God’s grace all this work has happened”. Sean’s family works on the Haiti180 mission with him, and his son plans to eventually take Sean’s place as president.
The message Sean Forrest effectively brings to teenagers – and adults – is that, without Christ, the secular world may make you rich but will not satisfy you inside. Being Catholic is hard, but it is the one true Church that God gave us, and the payoff is great.
Holy Apostles College and Seminarywww.holyapostles.edu is a NECHE and ATS accredited college with a mission of preparing and educating seminarians, consecrated and lay students for the New Evangelization through undergraduate and graduate programs. Students have access to faithfully Catholic, truly affordable, and fully online programs as well as residential religious programs in historic Cromwell, Connecticut. As a pioneer in online learning, Holy Apostles is one of the first theological schools to offer 100% online graduate programs. Alumni and faculty of the institution include internationally recognized leaders and experts in apologetics, philosophy, and theology.
The recent National Eucharistic Congress, held in Indianapolis in July, drew more than 50,000 attendees and featured alumni speakers from Holy Apostles College & Seminary, including well-known Catholic apologist Trent Horn.
Trent serves as a staff apologist for the popular media ministry Catholic Answers. He specializes in “teaching Catholics to graciously and persuasively engage those who disagree with them.” He also hosts his podcast, The Counsel of Trent.
At the National Eucharistic Congress, Trent spoke on one of his favorite subjects—the Eucharist—and provided arguments against attacks on the Eucharist, disproving claims that it is merely symbolic.
In his presentation, Trent also demonstrated that only the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist can explain why the sacrifice of the Mass is a fitting offering for God, as it truly is God the Son being presented to the Father as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
Trent earned a Master of Arts in Philosophy from Holy Apostles in 2018 and served as an adjunct professor at the college. He has authored or co-authored over a dozen books, including The Case for Catholicism, Persuasive Pro-life, and Why We’re Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope, and Love.
“My time at Holy Apostles gave me access to abundant resources that I still use in my podcasts and books to defend the Catholic faith. It also helped me understand new and exciting areas of thought in various fields of Catholic philosophy. Both philosophy and critical thinking are crucial to my defense of the faith, so I wanted to grow in that field and become a better apologist. I chose Holy Apostles because of its fidelity to Church teaching and the college’s flexible format, which served someone like me who is married and works full-time,” said Trent.
According to Catholic speaker, author, and alumnus Matt Fradd ’15, MA ’18, “Trent Horn is a gifted Catholic apologist as well as a compelling speaker. He presents Catholicism in an intelligent, careful, and winsome manner, providing his listeners with a model of how an ambassador of the Church ought to offer an account of our faith in public.”
Trent is a convert to Catholicism. His father was Jewish, and his mother a Protestant (formerly Catholic). He was not religious in his youth but was also not an atheist having more questions than answers at the time.
During his sophomore year of high school, he attended an outing hosted by a Catholic youth group and was later invited to the Holy Mass. This began a deeper dive into the Christian faith and his study of religion. Trent eventually realized that the Catholic faith “really is biblical,” and entered the Church at age 17.
Later, he served in the high school youth group, evangelized on various college campuses, gave talks at pro-life events and parishes, and worked for the Diocese of Phoenix. All of this prepared him for his 2012 position at Catholic Answers.
“Holy Apostles’ commitment to affordability, faithfulness, and flexibility has allowed us to form effective evangelists like Trent Horn in all walks of life. I highly recommend reading his books, especially Why We’re Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope, and Love,” said President-Rector Fr. Peter Kucer.
Holy Apostles College and Seminary holyapostles.edu is a NECHE and ATS accredited college with a mission of preparing and educating seminarians, consecrated and lay students for the New Evangelization through undergraduate and graduate programs. Students have access to faithfully Catholic, truly affordable, and fully online programs as well as residential religious programs in historic Cromwell, Connecticut. As a pioneer in online learning, Holy Apostles is one of the first theological schools to offer 100% online graduate programs. Alumni and faculty of the institution include internationally recognized leaders and experts in apologetics, philosophy, and theology.
After years of self-study about the Catholic faith, Alex felt the desire to further this spiritual formation in a formal setting. He was somewhat familiar with Holy Apostles through its hosting of Catholic Underground in years past. When examining further, Alex explained, “I started to hear about some of the fantastic alumni of Holy Apostles, like Matt Fradd, Trent Horn, and Fr. Chris Alar, MIC, and thought, ‘This college is 10 minutes away from me, and people who are really well-respected, well-known leaders in the Catholic world in the U.S. have received amazing formation from Holy Apostles.’” He also learned that it was very affordable, truly faithful to the Magisterium, and on the Newman Guide, which added to the selling points for him.
Several months ago, my daughter and I attended a retreat at our parish with her 9th grade religious education class. I had seen the speaker, 
Sean next wanted to help the lonely elderly, who many times die alone in their huts. With God’s help, Haiti180 built a home for them, and they and the children began developing grandparent-style relationships. In 2020, Haiti180 completed a state-of-the-art medical facility that will help thousands with urgent care, maternity, dental and eye, cardiology, radiology, and lab work. Women are able to give birth in a safe place instead of their huts and people do not have to walk for hours to receive treatment.
The recent