SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - While some people find faith as they grow older, others have never known life without it.

Father Angelo Benedict Ubanii is flocked by the youngest of St. Patrick's Parish after service on June 5. - Thandiwe Vela/NNSL photo

Not only are June and Chona Asombrado raising their daughters Ellaiza, 4, and Shaia, 21 months, in the Catholic Church, they themselves were born into the faith, growing up in the predominantly Catholic Philippine capital of Manila.

"We love spending time in the church, attending mass, praying, worshipping, and saying thanks for everything that we have," Chona said after Sunday mass at St. Patrick's church on 52nd Street and 52nd Avenue. The Catholic Church ensures her daughters are raised with good values, she adds. Little Ellaiza and Shaia almost never existed however. Chona had given up her hopes of marrying her childhood crush when June joined seminary school back home. Luckily for Chona, he decided priesthood wasn't for him, although he still describes himself as a devout Catholic.

Catholicism is the largest under the Christian umbrella of churches, with an estimated one billion members worldwide.

Stained glass images of Jesus Christ with a crown of thorns adorn the inside St. Patrick's church, depicting the stations of the cross.

If you're looking to visit this church for the first time, you don't have to go to seminary school but to follow along with the prayers, recitations, and rituals during the service, you'll have to do your homework.

I must confess, I arrived to mass a little late when I visited the parish recently. However, if you expect to get a seat for the 11 a.m. Sunday mass, you should arrive on time because otherwise the service is standing room only. About 200 people can be seated on the parish's long wooden pews, and there are plastic chairs outside in the foyer for the overflow of congregants and noisy children.

If you are an early riser, there's also a 9 a.m. Sunday service, as well as 5:30 p.m. services every weekday. If you wish to make confession, there is a traditional confessional as well as open confession periods with Father Angelo Benedict Ubanii, 30 minutes before each mass.

If you are not a member of the church, it is not proper to take part in the church's holy communion practice, when parishioners line up to take bread and drink wine from a chalice, representing the body and blood of Christ.

If you do participate, don't drink too much - unlike other Christian churches that usually use grape juice, St. Patrick's uses real wine.

St. Patrick's offers the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), which is a year-long program introducing new converts to the faith if you are interested in joining the Catholic Church for the first time as an adult. More information is available on their website www.stpatschurch.com.

Next week: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

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