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Meet Our RCIA Catechumen & Candidate

This Easter, Our Lady of the Wayside will welcome four catechumens/candidates to our Catholic Community.  Below is a brief introduction to two of the four.

Stacie Lannon

Hello, my name is Stacie. I’m so glad to be here and happy to be on my way to becoming part of the Wayside family and greater Catholic community. I’m originally from Pennsylvania, came to the Chicagoland area for graduate school, and met my husband here in Chicago. Prior to starting RCIA, I attended Wayside masses for holidays and was married in this church in 2017. Every time I was at OLW, I was struck by the beauty of the church with the light streaming through the stained glass windows. I loved the sense of community that I felt and was growing increasingly interested in renewing and expanding my faith here. Last year, I finally decided to take my leap of faith. What a whirlwind of an experience the last year has been with having our first baby, beginning my RCIA journey, and watching our daughter get baptized. While motherhood has constrained free time (and sleep!), I’m very happy in my decision to begin RCIA when I did. Through this process, I have learned so much about the Catholic faith and, ultimately, about myself and my faith. I am excited to continue to grow and learn with my family and as a part of this community.

Elaine McGuire

A retired elementary school teacher, I grew up in Charleston, West Virginia, and was raised Presbyterian. During my years at Northwestern University, I fell in love with the lakefront and eventually made the Midwest my permanent home. In 2018, my husband, Bob, and I, both widowed, married and moved to Arlington Heights. Wanting to attend church with Bob, who is a cradle Catholic, and to participate fully in communion, I decided to pursue Catholicism through RCIA. Bob and I have three grown sons and a five-year-old Whoodle named Cali.

Please keep our candidates and catechumenate in your prayers as they continue their journey to become members of the Catholic Church. Through the RCIA program, they are learning what it means to be Catholic and seek faith and conversion as the Holy Spirit opens their hearts.