Luca Marsura explored questions about faith while hosted by St. Raymond/Our Lady of Good Counsel music director
DETROIT ─ Luca Marsura is a foreign exchange student from Zurich, Switzerland, who is attending Lakeview High School in St. Clair Shores.
Come this Easter, at St. Raymond/Our Lady of Good Counsel Parish in Detroit, he will become a confirmed member of the Roman Catholic Church. And he has his foreign exchange host and confirmation sponsor to thank for it.
Marsura, 17, was born in New York but moved to Switzerland when he was 9, after his mother landed a job in Italy. Most of Marsura’s family lives in Italy and Switzerland, so the transition was smooth enough.
He was baptized an Episcopalian while living in the United States, but growing up in Europe, he tended to draw away from his faith.
“Actually, up until I was 12, 13, I had completely denied being Christian at all,” Marsura told Detroit Catholic. “I was really more agnostic; I didn’t know what to believe.”
Marsura said many young people in Switzerland didn’t openly discuss faith or religion, so it just fell out of favor.
But then one day, for some reason, Marsura purchased a Bible and started reading it, delving deeper into questions for which the world wasn’t providing answers.
Seeking also to reconnect with his American roots, Marsura registered with Youth for Understanding: Intercultural Exchange Programs, which partners with the U.S. Department of State to place foreign students with American host families.
As it happened, Marsura was placed with John Karski, director of evangelical charity at St. Therese of Lisieux Parish in Shelby Township and director of music at St. Raymond/Our Lady of Good Counsel in Detroit.
“You know, some people would say it’s maybe a coincidence or luck, but I really think it’s God’s plan that I got paired with someone who actually brought me into contact with the Catholic Church,” Marsura said.
Karski has hosted 21 foreign exchange students from 21 different countries. He never pushes his faith on any of his guests, but he always leaves the door open.
“I go to church every Sunday, so they (Karski is hosting another exchange student this year from Austria) wanted to go,” Karski said. “They’ve been with me every Sunday, even participating in the choir since I’m the director of music.”
Marsura was struck by how, every Sunday at Mass at St. Raymond/Our Lady of Good Counsel, the rest of the congregation was so purposeful in their prayer and presence in church.
“I was just inspired by really how deep the traditions and everything go,” Marsura said. “Everyone’s really passionate and really cares about their faith and spreading their faith to others. I remember being introduced to the pastor a couple of weeks in, which was really great. We never really interacted with the pastor in Switzerland. He was just there, but you didn’t talk to him.”
Marsura has regular phone conversations with his mom about how life is going in America, and when he kept bringing up his experience at St. Raymond/Our Lady of Good Counsel, his mom had a suggestion.
“John was introducing me to the Catholic Church, and well, maybe a couple of months into going to church, my mom mentioned on the phone maybe I should try becoming Catholic,” Marsura said. “And I was thinking, that’s a great idea. Everything seems sincere and deep, so I thought that is what was best for me.”
It was an interesting development for Karski to observe; watching Marsura speak to his mother about converting.
”We were sitting here on a Sunday, he was talking to his mother, and his mother had told me privately before that she’d always wanted to expose her kids to faith. She hoped one day they would choose that direction,” Karski said. “I think it’s a good approach for parents, trying not to push things. She had just mentioned to him, ‘You know what you’re doing; why don’t you go further?’ And I was sitting in the chair and thought, ‘Wow, am I hearing what I’m hearing?’
“It was a very beautiful moment to hear that expression coming from the parent to the child, and the child saying yes,” Karski said.
Marsura has been working with Sr. Rosemarie Abate, HVM, St. Raymond/Our Lady of Good Counsel’s OCIA coordinator, for 30 minutes every Sunday after Mass, delving into the deeper mysteries of the faith.
“She’s been really teaching me about the fundamentals, and although I do already know a little bit about the history and the teaching of the Catholic Church, she’s gone deeper with me,” Marsura said. “If you asked me six months ago what the seven sacraments were, I couldn’t tell you. But Sr. Rosemarie has been helping me to learn just how rich the Church’s teachings are.
“In understanding the Church, my relationship with God has really grown, and I think other people have noticed that, too,” Marsura added. “I think I have a deeper understanding for the bigger questions in life.”
It’s been amazing for Karski to watch Marsura undertake his journey of faith, adding he’s there for any questions that might arise.
“I’ve hosted students who were Hindu, Muslim, so-called atheists, agnostic kids, and I accept every one of them and invite them if they want to be part of something I do on Sunday,” Karski said. “Seeing him want to learn more, seeing how God is working through him in such a unique way, is amazing.”
Karski knows he has a small part to play in this story; it’s Marsura’s story, one in which God is the main actor.
“I couldn’t pinpoint what, but I knew something was taking place that was divine in many ways,” Karski said.
Marsura is part of a seemingly steady trend of young people expressing an interest in religion, particularly Catholicism. It’s a trend he attributes to a culture of self-expression and belonging that is leading more young Christians to be open about their faith compared to previous generations.
“Even in Switzerland, in my age bracket, there were a good amount of people who were openly Christian, which was a good thing,” Marsura said. “But then when you go beyond the surface level, as you grow up, you realize just how deep the faith is because people are willing to share more about their lives. So yes, I’d say there really is a move toward Christianity in the youth, because we are looking for something. And finding it in Jesus.
“Someone once told me, if you identify as a Christian, you have to actually be able to show people what it means to be a Christian, to see Christ in one another, so people will say, ‘Oh, that person’s a Christian,’” Marsura said. “That’s why when you share the faith, you show others what that faith means, and it becomes attractive. You can really help spread God’s love through the world, and that’s what matters in the end.”
