by Katie Vasquez
Sitting in the first pew at St. Sebastian’s church in Woodside, Queens, is Shekhar Giri and his wife, Arlene Allam Assi.
They’re a staple for the 10:30 am Sunday mass, but what you probably couldn’t tell is that Shekhar is not Catholic, at least not yet.
He is one of the 447 catechumens in the Diocese of Brooklyn or people who will be baptized at the Easter vigil.
At this particular mass, he received the first scrutiny, when a priest lays their hands over someone to be baptized and the parish prays they may reject anything that is contrary to a christian life.
“The father removed the exorcism, the bad spirit from the body, that’s the reason we are there. I feel blessed,” said Giri.
Shekhar’s journey to this point has been filled with twists and turns.
He was born into a Hindu family in Nepal and for years, would help climbers trying to scale Mount Everest.
“I went up to the base camp because of, you know, a group of people and they need some time for medical help and they had frostbite,” said Giri.
It was while teaching in a business school that he met his wife Arlene, who was raised Catholic in the Philippines.
On their first date she insisted on showing him her faith.
“It happened to be Christmas, and we attended the midnight mass at St. Patrick’s cathedral. And if I’m not mistaken, that was his first introduction to the church,” said Shekhar’s wife, Arlene Allam Assi.
26 years later the pair are still going to mass together every Sunday.
But it wasn’t until recently that Shekhar felt called to become part of the church.
“I started to read the bible and some kind of power spirit, you know, tells me to baptize. all the time, you know. So that’s why I chose baptism,” said Giri.
The pastor of Saint Sebastian Church, Father Patrick West says Shekhar’s story is a great lesson.
“Almost like the blind man who comes to a healing, you know, step by step. Some people, you know, say this is the time now. others take, you know, longer in their journey,” said Father West.
And the couple is looking forward to a fresh start with his baptism.
“Reborn. New life. and you, all your sins will be removed and that’s the way to live your life,” said Giri.
“He will be the same Shekhar. but I think he will be a happier person, a more generous individual, and more open to people,” said Allam Assi.