At the 2025 Easter Vigil, we were blessed to have four individuals receive sacraments, two of which were Mary Wilmot and her son Manuel Pineda III. The below article was contributed by parishioner and Parish Council member Gloria DiFlorio. Thank you, Gloria!
People in Church: Mary Wilmot and Manuel Pineda III
Mary Wilmot and her son Manuel became Catholics at the Easter Vigil. When asked what brought her to Catholicism, she answered, “It’s more of what kept me from Catholicism and the two who brought me to it”.
Mary’s mother said she was baptized as a Methodist; but there was no record of it, and she was not raised in a religious faith, even though she espoused traditional religious values. Her mother raised 5 children who turned out well, even though they didn’t have much. She did not know who her biological father was until much later in life, when she did a genealogical search, concerned about her own and her son’s medical issues.
She has two sons, both of whom went to Catholic schools and have Catholic fathers. Mary resisted becoming a Catholic because of the number of Catholics she knew whom she considered to be hypocritical in that they “went through the motions without desire”. Mary’s husband, a devout Catholic, finally told her she was putting her faith in man and not in the traditional values of the Church.
Another nudge came from Carolanne Porto, her good friend. She and her husband Chuck are godparents to both Mary and Manny. They have frequent conversations that often turn to politics; but a third of them are about religion, delivered in a non-judgmental fashion. Mary explains her heart was calling for guidance; and, in her opinion, Carol has a gift for evangelization.
A chance meeting with Father Clemente at a secular function and an invitation from Nancy Walker, who is one of our parishioners, helped put things into motion. It was time! She asked Manny if he wanted to become a Catholic, to which he agreed; and they called Alicia Kanis, our faith formation coordinator and the R.C.I.A. process [began] last fall.
Alicia interviewed the pair, listening to their personal stories and discerning their motivations. She provided them with the Catechism and handouts and met with them every Monday. Mary was impressed by Alicia’s flexibility and patience as she guided them in their discussions, being open to all their questions.
Mary’s chosen field is health care. She is self-employed and works as a visiting nurse caring for patients with various needs, and is currently working full-time with a patient with Cerebral Palsy. When it came time for Mary to choose a name for Confirmation, she researched and chose “Monica” from St. Monica, patron saint of patience, whose feast day is August 27, Mary’s birthday, and “Jeanne”, from St. Jeanne Jugan, patron saint of the elderly and the sick.
Manuel “Manny”, Mary, and Nate.
Mary hopes to keep growing in her faith and to be aware of avoiding sinful temptations such as social media. She journals and wants to be open to what God expects of her.Manny joins her on this faith journey. Manny attended Catholic schools from K-12 with the exception of 6th grade. He knew he wanted to be baptized when he was in elementary school; but his mother, who was not practicing any particular religion, encouraged him to wait until was old enough to make the decision on his own. His father, a devout Catholic, wanted both his wife and Manny to become Catholic, and prayed about it every day. Manny believes his prayers and their godparents’ encouragement brought them to the first step, R.C.I.A.
He is currently a delivery driver for Amazon. Having made the decision to refrain from taking the COVID vaccine during the Pandemic, he lost his scholarship and was thus unable to complete his college degree, although lately he has been considering pursuing a career in the trades—-either electrical or carpentry. In his free time he enjoys watching sports and playing sports, especially golf.
Please welcome Mary and Manny to our church family!
-Gloria DiFlorio