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Catherine Freymann, a student at Mount de Sales Academy, visited Krakow with Clare Rowedder, a friend from Virginia. The two were the only Americans in their group of seven missionaries and two consecrated women who served as guardians for the monthlong trip. (Courtesy Freymann family)

Severna Park parishioner completes mission trip to Poland


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Special to the Catholic Review Filed Under: Feature, Local News, News

A year ago in September, Catherine Freymann, then a freshman at Mount de Sales Academy in Catonsville, prayed for discernment in two areas of her life.

The first was which saint’s name to take for her forthcoming confirmation.

The second was whether to serve as a missionary to other young women and girls the following summer. She wouldn’t know in which country until after she’d made her decision.

The invitation came through the Encounters, Conviction and your Decisions (ECyD) initiative of Regnum Christi, whose members staff the Leadership Training Program (LTP) for young parishioners such as Catherine at St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park.

The invitation for a mission to Poland came through the Encounters, Conviction and your Decisions (ECyD) initiative of Regnum Christi, whose members staff the Leadership Training Program (LTP) for young parishioners such as Catherine at St. John the Evangelist in Severna Park. (Courtesy of Freymann family)

As the months passed, her prayers converged. Catherine decided on John Paul II as her confirmation name and the second decision followed quickly on the first. 

“So I was praying to him (about being a missionary),” she recalled, “and I thought, ‘Yes, I’m going to do it. Why not?’” 

Not long after accepting the call, sometime around April, she learned she would be going to Poland, the historic and beloved home of her chosen saint.

By the end of June, Catherine was off to Krakow with Clare Rowedder, a friend from Virginia she’d met at camp a few years earlier. The two were the only Americans in their group of seven missionaries and two consecrated women who served as guardians for the monthlong trip – the rest were from Spain, Mexico and Guatemala and, of course, spoke Spanish. Between that and the limited English of their Polish hosts, the language barrier was initially vexing. 

“It just took some time, and it was a lot of just praying for graces. …. Over time it got a lot better,” Catherine said.

Two weeklong overnight camps were broken up by a week of touring religious and historical sites, particularly those connected to native son and future pope Karol Wojtyla. The session concluded with a week of day camp.

Each of the weeks had a particular rhythm as the missionaries planned activities and engaged with Poles. One of Catherine’s favorite moments occurred at the second camp, right before the start of night prayers.

“So, this is after the night activity, which is the main event of the day that the missionaries planned,” Catherine said. “We put on the song, ‘Oceans.’ It’s beautiful. There’s a version in Polish, a version in Spanish and a version in English. All of the different languages, we all sang at the same time. We were in a circle and just putting arms around each other. It felt like God was just with each and every one of us at that moment.”

Back in the U.S. and once again active in her school and parish, Catherine was recently honored by Regnum Christi for her service. 

“They were all wonderful, wonderful girls,” she said. “It was just amazing to meet them and to see their growth in Christ throughout the camps and how they lived their daily lives.”

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