Called, Formed, Sent: Four Missionaries Reflect on Their Year with RC Mission Corps
Meet four Regnum Christi Mission Corps missionaries whose year of service changed their lives, deepening their faith, forming them as apostles, and inspiring them to continue serving Christ and his Church.
Regnum Christi Mission Corps is a one- to two-year Catholic youth and young adult missionary program that leads young people into a deeper relationship with Jesus Christ, forms them as Christian leaders and apostles, and sends them out to put their unique gifts and talents at the service of the evangelizing mission of the Church.
Through prayer, fellowship with other missionaries, and life-changing retreats and missions, RC missionaries experience deeply and profoundly Christ’s personal love, and are then sent out as Christian leaders to make his Kingdom present in the world.
For over 25 years, RCMC has called, formed, and sent more than 1500 young men and women to cities across North America, and on missions around the world. Meet four of last year’s missionaries and hear how the program impacted their lives, and how God is calling them to continue his mission in the world.
Gianna Henkel
“I don’t want to fully serve the Lord for just one year, but for the rest of my life.”
Gianna Henkel is from Atlanta, Georgia, and spent her missionary year in Dallas, Texas. With both of her parents and all of her siblings involved in Regnum Christi and its various apostolates, the RC charism was a constant presence in her family.
Growing up, Gianna loved the opportunities she had to spend time with the RC missionaries, who were often invited for dinner or hosted in their home. As she spent more time around them, she witnessed their passion for inspiring young people to become apostles, and this example had a huge impact on her. However, it wasn’t until her older sister, Jeanne, had completed her RCMC year that Gianna felt called to become a missionary herself. “Hearing her testimony awakened a desire in my heart to dedicate a year of my life to serve Christ.”
“This RCMC year has been one of the most powerful and fruitful experiences of my life. Through full-time apostolic work, I came to realize that my life is not worth living unless I am fully living for Christ. I don’t want to fully serve the Lord for just one year, but for the rest of my life. I have grown tremendously in my faith and have fallen even more deeply in love with him.”
Before her mission year, although she had been attending her weekly Encounters and serving as a Challenge team leader, Gianna felt like she was on autopilot, rather than living her faith to the fullest and being intentional about her prayer life and apostolic commitments. “I am grateful for Regnum Christi and for the opportunity to be an instrument of God in the RCMC program. This mission year has deepened my desire to give myself completely to apostolic work and to build the Kingdom of God.”
This upcoming year, Gianna will be attending nursing school, while working to help grow ECYD localities that do not have the support of local Consecrated Women or RCMC missionaries.
Barbara Lebrija
“I said yes to giving a year of my life to the one who gave everything for me.”
Barbara Lebrija is from Monterrey, Mexico, and she spent the year serving in Dallas, Texas. Before becoming an RC missionary, Barbara was involved in the Regnum Christi young adult section in Monterrey, and because several of her family members had been missionaries, she already knew the impact a mission year had on their lives and on the people they served. “Seeing the joy they had, the friendships they built, and the impact they had on others made me want to experience that same mission for myself. After discerning whether Jesus wanted me to fulfill this mission, I said yes to giving a year of my life to the one who gave everything for me.”
In Dallas, Barbara worked primarily with ECYD girls of all ages, leading retreats, camps, missions, team meetings, and formation activities. But what she loved the most about her work over the past year was accompanying the girls in their everyday lives.
“Some of the most meaningful moments were not during the big events or apostolates, but in conversations that happened during lunch, in our office, or in moments when a girl could feel seen, known, and loved. These moments impacted me the most: seeing the girls encounter Christ in their day-to-day lives, seeing the team leaders grow in confidence, and witnessing someone realize for the first time that God has a personal mission for her life.”
Throughout her year, Barbara learned that evangelization is, above all, about relationship. “What changes lives is authentic accompaniment. This year taught me how important it is to listen well, to be present, and to genuinely invest in others.”
After much prayer and discernment, Barbara has decided to stay on for a second year.
“I entered this year thinking I was giving a year to Jesus, but he has given me far more than I could have imagined. Through the girls I accompanied, the families who welcomed us, the missionaries I served alongside, and the countless ways I have seen him work throughout this year, he has shown me that every sacrifice made for him is returned a hundredfold—God is never outdone in generosity. That is one of the biggest reasons I am so grateful to be returning for a second year.”
Niko Roche
“My mission year in Atlanta has truly been the best year of my life.”
Niko Roche is from Middle Haddam, Connecticut, and spent his missionary year in Atlanta, Georgia, where he served primarily at Pinecrest Academy and Holy Spirit Preparatory School. Here, he worked alongside other missionaries, Legionary priests, families, and students to run several apostolates, including Conquest clubs, Encounter groups, retreats, and camps.
The impact that Niko’s mission had on his life began before the year had even begun. During the summer training program, held at Sacred Heart Apostolic School in Rolling Prairie, Indiana, he lived in community with his missionary brothers, sharing times of prayer and formation. “It was a time of deep growth where I not only learned about mission life, but also formed friendships with the men who would become some of my closest brothers throughout the year. And I learned how to surrender control and trust God with my future.”
“My mission year in Atlanta has truly been the best year of my life, and has shaped me more than I ever expected. It strengthened my faith, gave me lifelong friendships, and taught me what it means to truly serve others. Most importantly, I learned that mission is not just about what you do for others, but about walking with them and helping them encounter Christ in everyday life. I am deeply grateful to Regnum Christi Mission Corps for this year and for everything God has done through it. I know the lessons and relationships from this time will stay with me for the rest of my life.”
Moving forward, Niko is interested in pursuing a career in electrical work and landscaping, but most importantly, his missionary year has nurtured in him a growing desire to not leave mission life behind. “I want to continue serving the Church in some capacity and helping form others in their faith.” One initiative he is interested in further developing is the Knights of the Altar program, which forms young boys not only in the practical skills of altar serving, but also in a better understanding of the Mass, reverence, discipline, and brotherhood.
Josiah Sechser
“The reason I’ve been so happy this year is because my life has been a gift of myself to others.”
At 18 years old, Josiah Sechser was the youngest of the North American RC missionaries this year. In fact, he had to wait until he turned 18 in September, a month after the missions had already begun.
Josiah is from Jenkins, Minnesota, and spent his missionary year in Atlanta, Georgia. When he attended ECYD retreats in 2023 and 2024, he was challenged by an RC missionary to become a missionary himself. This challenge ignited a spark in Josiah: “It was the slow start of a fire that kept building and building until the desire to become a missionary became really strong. I could do this! I could go out and make an impact like he had on me—I could go out and do that for others.”
In Atlanta, Josiah served at three schools—Pinecrest Academy, Holy Spirit Preparatory School, and St. John Bosco Academy—but the highlight of his year was leading the same retreat where he himself had first heard the call to become a missionary.
Josiah describes his missionary year as the best year of his life:
“For the last two years of my life, I was a really unhappy person—I was always grumpy. This year, I realized that it was because everything in my life was about me. During my missionary year, everything I did was oriented toward others, toward the boys I was working with, so I could make a greater impact on their lives, so that they could come into a deeper relationship with Jesus. That’s the reason I’ve been so happy this year—it’s because my life has been a gift of myself to others.”
After much discernment and prayer, Josiah has decided to move to Atlanta this fall and hopes to launch a men’s formation initiative designed to renew and reshape the vision of masculinity based on the model of St. Joseph.
“God called me to be a missionary, God called me to go change the world. God called, and I answered. He knocked at the door of my heart, and I invited him in and, hopefully, through that obedient yes, I will have made some impact in the world.”
Find out more
Behind each Regnum Christi missionary is a fascinating, unique, and inspiring story of God’s providence at work! Visit the RC Mission Corps website and meet the 2026–2027 missionarieswho will be sent out across North America to be the courageous missionaries Christ’s Kingdom needs.
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