Colorado Catholic family prepares for an Easter homecoming
Colorado is home to more than 900,000 Catholics, according to Pew Research and US Census data. This week they are marking Holy Week in preparation for Easter Sunday.
A family in Aurora is re-entering the church after months of preparation.
Chuck Chagas says he has no words to describe the joy he feels about rejoining the church together with his family - after what he describes as 40 years in the desert.
"Being able to have a new beginning where I can be a better person going forward regardless of whatever sins I might have had in my past. It's just a beautiful, beautiful beginning," he said.
Chagas was born and spent his early years in Portugal. He was active in the church as a child, but the practice fell away when his family immigrated here.
Chagas said, "When we moved to the U.S., we had more of a secular life I would say."
He married Teresa, an observant Catholic who grew up in Mexico. And it wasn't until their eldest daughter expressed a wish to receive her sacraments that Chagas decided he too should officially re-enter the church.
"We get so wound up in our day to day to raise kids, to start a family, to earn money and all these other things that we often forget the most important thing: which is what happens after," he said.
At Our Lady of Loreto Church in Aurora the Chagas family takes part in a foot washing ceremony on Holy Thursday…meant to commemorate the humilty and selfless love of Jesus.
Chagas says it's important he began the effort to rejoin the church before his mother died last November.
"She was very happy that her son was finally going to be baptized in the church," he said.
And as Easter approaches, for Chagas, being a Catholic will mean sharing his good fortune with others, adding, "We have so many blessings especially here in the U.S. that we often forget. It's for us to share those blessings with others as well."
Chuck Chagas and his daughter will be baptized on April 8th. It's customary in the Catholic Church for new members to join on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter.
