Bradford girl feels ‘reborn,’ ‘strong’ and ‘close to God’ as new Catholic

Mary, left, and Allyson Adams smile before the Easter Vigil Mass at St. Michael Church in Bradford on April 4, when Mary received the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist. (Submitted photo)

By Natalie Hoefer

BRADFORD—When Mary Adams was a little girl, she was outgoing and active, says her mother Allyson Adams.

So, family and friends “were surprised when she started going through this ‘phase’ of crippling fear of being alone,” says Adams.

That’s what 9-year-old Mary calls it—her “phase.”

The roots of her fear of being alone reach back about three years to the onset of Mary’s ongoing “debilitating migraines,” her mother explains. By the summer of 2025, Mary’s fear had also become debilitating.

“She was terrified of being alone and not where my husband and I could see her,” says Adams.

Something else happened three years ago. Adams, a lifelong Catholic, returned to the practice of regularly attending weekend Mass. She brought Mary—who had not been baptized—with her.

The more she went to Mass with her mom, the more Mary “wanted Communion and to be closer to God so I wouldn’t be alone,” she says.

Her desire was fulfilled on April 4 during the Easter Vigil Mass at St. Michael Church in Bradford when she was welcomed into full communion with the Church.

Another desire was fulfilled in the process: As Mary’s new life in Christ began, her “phase” of migraines and fear ended.

‘I didn’t want to go anywhere’

When Mary began having migraines in first grade, Allyson and her husband Keith Adams took her to see a neurologist at Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville.

The headaches “were so severe, they were really causing a ripple in her school studies,” says Adams. “And then they started to affect her social life, too.”

“I didn’t want to go anywhere,” Mary admits. Not even to birthday parties or to spend time with friends “if Keith or I or immediate family weren’t in the same room,” her mother adds.

“I think she became frightened of feeling a migraine coming on and not having one of us around to understand what that’s like or how to help her through that.”

By last summer, Mary’s fear of being alone reached a point that “if I was downstairs, she couldn’t be upstairs,” says Adams.

But Mary enjoyed joining her mom for weekend Mass at St. Michael. It was a practice that started three years ago when Adams’ sister and brother-in-law, members of St. Michael, asked her to be their newborn daughter’s godmother.

“My faith was always there,” says Adams, who grew up in St. Joseph’s Parish in Crawford County. “But with the industry that I’m in, it was so easy to work on Sundays or to work really late on Saturdays. So, [going to Mass] became something that really was on hiatus for a while.”

When she became a godmother, worshiping at Mass each weekend became “something that I really wanted to take very seriously and set a good example for both my niece and my daughter,” says Adams.

She admits that “part of me was so ashamed for putting [Mary’s baptism] on the back burner. …

“But I really feel it happened this way so that Mary and St. Gemma could find each other, so she could have her special saint.”

‘I knew God was there’

Mary approached her parents late last spring saying she wanted to be baptized.

Adams recalls telling her daughter that preparation for baptism involved classes, “and it’s going to be a deep dive.”

Despite her fear of being alone, Mary persevered.

“The first day of faith formation she cried because she didn’t want to be alone, so for the first class I sat in the corner,” says Adams. “Then the next class she had some tears but stuck it out, and she was fine after that. It was so great to see her actively get into it and then come home and tell me what she learned.”

Part of Mary’s preparation included choosing a patron saint for the sacrament of confirmation. Except in her case, the saint seemed to choose her.

“I was going through a saint book, and I just stumbled on a page with St. Gemma [Galgani],” Mary recalls. “I didn’t really read what she was [the patron saint] for. But I just thought that she looked like a really good saint.”

As it turns out, Gemma is the patron saint of those suffering from headaches and migraines. Adams still shakes her head in wonder, saying, “That was no coincidence.”

Adams adds that her daughter “found so much inspiration in hearing Gemma’s story of struggling and letting her devout faith and purity overcome the devil’s pursuit of her. St. Gemma came into her life when she needed her the most.”

Mary had another special encounter during her time of preparation. During Mass on the fourth Sunday of Lent, she says she felt a strong sense of God’s presence.

“I couldn’t see him, but I knew God was there,” says Mary. “He felt as big as that,” she says, pointing to the large crucifix in the sanctuary of St. Michael Church, where she and her mom spoke with The Criterion. “Now at every Mass, I feel like he is just right there watching.”

Adams notes that Mary’s sense of God’s presence extends beyond the Mass.

“She tells me if she ever feels alone, she knows God is everywhere, so she feels his presence and St. Gemma’s.”

‘It made me feel strong’

“Close to God.” It’s what Mary desired when she asked to be baptized, and it’s how she says she feels now that she has received the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist.

Her most memorable parts of the Easter Vigil revolve around her baptism. She recalls with a smile “getting water dumped over my head” and immediately feeling “reborn.”

But Mary’s favorite moment was being anointed with oil during the baptismal rite.

“It made me feel strong,” she says with joyful confidence as she flexes her arm.

“It’s been so wonderful to see her get through so many big hurdles and become strong, to watch her become independent and proud of her faith,” Adams reflects. “This whole journey has just been so beautiful.”

Although he’s not Catholic, Keith has been “such a big supporter for [Mary] and for the whole journey,” she adds, noting he attended the Easter Vigil Mass. “That’s been so rewarding.”

Rewarding, too, is her daughter’s continued excitement to share “new things she learns about God, stories from the Bible or her favorite saints,” says Adams. “And she’s always asking me, ‘Mommy, look this up on your phone’ about some Bible story or spiritual figure.”

As for Mary’s migraines, “If I feel one coming on, I pray to St. Gemma and say the St. Michael prayer,” says Mary.

But such moments are rare now.

“Her headaches practically disappeared by the end of the school year,” her mother says. “It’s amazing how quickly they went away.”

Gone, too, is Mary’s “phase” of fear.

“Mary today is much more confident and relaxed in environments that used to overwhelm her with anxiety and fear,” says Adams. “It’s hard to put into words how much this sacramental process has done for her.

“And for me as her mother, there is no greater soul fulfillment than to watch your daughter flourish in her relationship with God and feel confident in her faith. This entire journey has filled a void that we never realized was so longing.” †