When she was a senior at a public high school, one of Julia Ferreira’s teachers told her that churches were a place for the elderly, not the young.
He had meant the comment to be dismissive. Instead, Julia took it as a challenge.
Over the past several years, Ferreira has worked tirelessly with her parish of St. Francis Xavier in East Providence to energize young Catholics and strengthen them in the faith — efforts for which she has been honored with a Lumen Gentium Award in the category of Distinguished Catholic Youth.
“For young people, especially in public schools, there can be a sense that religion is a taboo topic,”Ferreira says. “Even the kids that are religious can sometimes feel as though the only reason to go to church is if you need something, not because it’s a part of your daily life.”
Ferreira’s religious commitments have made up a sizable portion of her own daily life, with the 21-year-old putting in a minimum of 15 hours per week helping at her parish. Although she also serves as a liturgical minister, office assistant, flutist and altar server (“People always ask me if I’m getting a little too old for that,” she jokes), it is Ferreira’s work in reestablishing the Youth Ministry that is cited as her greatest contribution to the life of the parish.
“Our young people really look up to Julia and admire her,” her nomination for the award indicates. “She is truly a great instrument of evangelization for her peers.”
Like many parishes in the diocese, St. Francis Xavier had a dedicated youth group in decades past — but as participation decreased, the ministry slowly dissolved. It was Ferreira (working closely with friends like Caitlin Correia) that managed to rebuild the organization.
In addition to her work at the parish, Ferreira has a rather busy academic career: she is now a senior at Providence College majoring in biology, and is also studying Spanish and Italian in order to achieve a trifecta of Romance languages (she is already fluent in Portuguese). After graduating, Ferreira hopes to become a physician’s assistant.
“I had originally considered becoming a doctor, but working as a PA gives you more of a chance to work one-on-one with patients without the additional concerns that come with private practice,” she says.
This sense of compassion is central to Ferreira’s personality — although being so generous with her time can frequently wreak havoc with her schedule. “People always tell me that I need to learn how to say ‘No’,” Ferreira relates. “But it breaks my heart to turn somebody down if I can help them.”
