ATLANTA—When Allan and Sydney Coalla walked into the Cathedral of Christ the King for the first time last year, they were nervous.   

They unknowingly walked into the Atlanta parish on Palm Sunday and sat quietly in the back.   

The couple had no religious background, no faith tradition and little understanding of Catholicism. They simply wanted what Allan later described as an “authentic experience.”  

This Easter, the Braselton couple will be baptized at the cathedral during the Easter Vigil, entering the Catholic Church together.   

On Feb. 21, they stood again inside the cathedral as catechumens for the Rite of Election. The liturgy, celebrated at four parishes across the Archdiocese of Atlanta, enrolls catechumens, those who have not been baptized, and calls them to the Easter sacraments. Candidates, those who are already baptized in other Christian traditions, also gather as they prepare to enter full communion with the Church.   

This year, 3,442 people are entering the church in the archdiocese, including 1,004 catechumens and 2,438 candidates. Last year, 2,110 candidates and 860 catechumens entered.   

The Rite of Election was, “overwhelming, but in such a good way,” Sydney said.   

Questions of eternity  

Allan Coalla, 27, works in landscaping and previously worked as a data scientist. He attended Frankfurt School of Finance and Management in Germany.   

“Truthfully, I have always struggled with the fear of death and the afterlife,” Allan said.   

Philosophy and theology were always outlets for wrestling with questions he had. When he and Sydney married in 2022, the questions intensified.   

On the night of their wedding, as they reflected on the day, Allan told his bride that he needed to understand what it meant to live in a committed, morally valued relationship within the context of faith. And, most of all, he could not fathom being separated from Sydney in the afterlife.   

Allan and Sydney Coalla celebrate their attendance at
the Rite of Election on Feb. 21 at the Cathedral of Christ the King in
Atlanta. They are among the 1,004 catechumens who will be baptized at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. Photo Courtesy of Sydney Coalla

He recalled thinking to himself that, “wherever Sydney goes after she dies, I want to be there too.” At the time of these thoughts, it became difficult for Allan to live without knowing the answer.   

“There’s a sort of spiritual intimacy in thinking about these things,” he said. “If love is real, then there has to be something more for us.”   

His research on faith included listening to debates between different religions, then studying theology more deeply. He and Sydney grew fond of William Lane Craig, a Christian philosopher who held classes about faith in Marietta.   

The saints ultimately became decisive for Allan, whose patron saint is Benedict of Nursia.   

“The concept of saints and intercession was so foreign and strange to me,” he said. “But overtime, as my faith deepened, it became apparent to me that if Jesus was real, and the saints are real, then I want to be with and have communion with the saints. And if I want to have communion with the saints, where else in the world do I go to share what they shared?”   

For Allan the future now included fatherhood within the Catholic faith.   

“One of my vocations is to be a father, and to be able to give them their birthright as Catholics is going to mean a lot to me,” he said.   

“I want to be somebody who was known by their faith, and I want to pass that to my children,” Allan said.   

Building a belief system  

Sydney, 26, is the chief of staff for World 50. She graduated from the University of Georgia and married Allan shortly after.   

Unlike her husband, Sydney’s shift to the faith felt more gradual. She spent most of her life as an agnostic and never thought much about faith until Allan began questioning it.   

The jump from no faith system to Catholicism was easy, she shared. When Allan introduced the idea, she was intrigued to start “building a Catholic belief system.” She researched on her own as Allan continued untangling his thoughts and learning more about the faith.   

Stepping into the Cathedral of Christ the King was, “a little jarring,” she said. But she remembers leaving and loving the experience.   

They had spent many nights talking about faith, about Christianity, but over time it became clear that the Catholic Church was the one that “made the most sense,” Sydney said.  

She recalled a moment the couple shared at Reformation Brewery after a conversation about faith together. Allan asked his wife, “Jesus really did come back from the dead, didn’t he?” To which Sydney replied, “I’m afraid so, I think he did.”   

The two met at Forsyth Central High School in Cumming. They were not high school sweethearts but began dating after Sydney graduated from high school. Though Allan was in Germany, they maintained a long-distance relationship.  

Before deciding on the Cathedral of Christ the King, they attended churches of various Christian traditions. Most of the non-denominational churches did not work well for them, Sydney said.   

Allan sought out the cathedral because they believed it to be the most well-known and wanted to experience Catholicism in its fullest expression. Only later did they realize that the heart of Catholic life, the Eucharist, is the same in every parish. 

For a year, they have driven from Braselton to Atlanta to attend Mass each Sunday at the cathedral.   

Both emphasize that although Allan spearheaded much of the couple’s research, he was intentional about his wife reaching conclusions on her own. They are proud and happy that they arrived at Catholicism at the same time, but independently from each other.   

At the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, the Coallas will be baptized, confirmed and will receive the Eucharist for the first time. For the couple, the journey that began with intellectual curiosity now transforms into sacramental life.