Luis Nava, a parishioner at St. Joseph Parish in Lake Orion, felt inspired to help peers find their voice, live their Catholic faith
LAKE ORION — “Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
Luis Nava, a high school freshman at the International Academy, takes to heart that he wants to be ready to answer any questions from his peers, but also to better understand his Catholic faith. He began an online newspaper called The Catholic Michigander, where he tackles some of those questions, and more.
Nava is a parishioner at St. Joseph Parish in Lake Orion and spent his first few years attending school there. He recently spoke to students at the Catholic school about a project he started to help spread the Catholic faith among teens and to help young people understand what the faith is all about.
“A lot of the times, if I'm facing questions from classmates that don't have the same beliefs as me, I want to know exactly what I believe and exactly why I believe it,” Nava said.
Learning about his faith became more of a quest after Nava attended a pro-life conference in 2024 at his parish. While he was there, Nava picked up a quote from William Wilberforce that he says inspired him to fulfill what he believes is his calling: “Let it not be said that I was silent when they needed me,” he said. The saying is posted above his desk. “I see it every day.”
Nava, who plans to study neuroscience, said he has always been passionate about writing and hoped to start a newspaper one day. After the conference, he felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit guiding him, and he got to work on a website.
“It all came from a project that I had when I was in middle school,” he said. “I was on the newspaper for my middle school in sixth grade, and then in seventh grade I took over as the editor.”
Nava takes ideas for content for the newspaper from his daily experiences and conversations with classmates. He also invites others to write with him.
The newspaper contains a wide variety of articles on different topics, from infertility and natural family planning to life issues and the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. Nava said he writes "if a particular issue sparks my interest." Fr. Jim Kean advises Nava on Catholic theology to ensure that all of the content adheres to Catholic teaching.
“There was a report that a huge amount of Catholics don’t know that Christ is really present in the Eucharist, so I thought topics like those would be good to address,” Nava said.
Each month, Nava writes and edits the copy and posts it to the website, featuring not only his writing but that of some of his peers.
“A couple of them are parishioners here at St. Joseph Parish, but they were public school students,” said Doris Fornasiero, principal at St. Joseph School. “I think that’s also a remarkable piece, that he’s reaching and pulling in students from all over the public school, private school, but students who are passionate about their faith.”
Nava doesn’t just write about his faith, but he brings it to life, said Lindy Cubba, a middle school religion teacher at St. Joseph.
“As teachers and educators, listening to him, it was remarkable because he had captured this passion for faith and yet this way to inspire and nurture beliefs that people already have and bring them into the open,” Cubba said.
In addition to his work with the newspaper, Nava is also active in the youth group and as an athlete, where he encourages others to live their lives of faith. Recently he spoke to St. Joseph students about his project.
“He’s just an incredibly positive, strong influence in the right way,” Fornasiero said. “He inspired the kids and encouraged them to speak out, that they didn’t have to keep their beliefs and their feelings about their faith to themselves. He was giving them a safe place to voice their beliefs.”
Nava said he is grateful to the Holy Spirit, as well as mentors such as Fornasiero and Cubba, and said he wants to encourage other students to be courageous enough to do what they dream.
“Well, I try to be a model to imitate, but I mean it's a work in progress,” he said.
“Like with everything, we're all called to be saints, so I'm trying to walk down that road, as I'm sure everybody is," Nava said. "I hope this can inspire other people to maybe take action and realize they can do anything. Hopefully, we can get all of the youth of today to really grow in their love for God.”
Nava believes his newspaper project and his interest in neuroscience are related.
“It’s really perfect, because neuroscience and religion and spirituality go hand in hand so well together," Nava said. "We need God at the center of our lives if we want to have good mental health. I thought that would integrate very well with the writing and with religion.”
With three more years of high school ahead of him, Nava said he hopes he can continue the newspaper for several more years.
“I’m not sure how it’s going to evolve," he said, "but I hope that we can continue to put out articles that teenagers can see and be inspired by.”
