Junior Mia Soracco identifies as a Catholic. She goes to mass with her mom every month and every holiday. She prays before eating meals. She feels very much at home when her family participates in religious activities, ranging from mass, community service, and more at her old school, Saints Peter and Paul in San Francisco. 

Her parents were a big influence on her road to becoming Catholic.

“I didn’t have much of a choice in becoming a Catholic. I was baptized when I was three months old… so the decision to be a Catholic was made by my parents,” Soracco said.

During her interview with the Catalyst, she reminisced on her experiences going through several important religious events with her elementary school classmates. Her most meaningful ones are receiving her First Holy Communion and getting confirmed by Bishop Bill Justice.

“Reconciliation was an interesting event,” she added. 

Her first Reconciliation took place in the school gym, rather than a church. It was a different atmosphere and an unusual experience for her since the school used blue karate mats as dividers for each student to talk with the priests. She says she enjoyed talking to the priest because it helped reconciliation feel more personal. 

Even before she came to NDB, Soracco was sure of being Catholic. She says she has never questioned her religion because she never had a reason to question it. She says she has full faith in God with assurance of his guidance. 

“I feel like I already had my religious identity discovered before I came to NDB. NDB hasn’t really helped me figure it out, but that’s just because I had it discovered from my old school,” she said. 

Soracco and her family recently participated in Catholic Schools Week activities there.

Attending Catholic school for her entire life has helped her understand her religious identity.  

Soracco said, “Going to a Catholic school, I feel like you get a better education than going to a public school.”   

By being part of the NDB community and continuing to stay in touch with her old school, Soracco has discovered her true Catholic identity.