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Little did Cristina D’Averso-Collins realize last October when she was one of the keynote speakers at the diocese’s Critical Life Issues conference that she would return on July 1 as director of the Office of Family Life. At the conference D’Averso-Collins spoke about the “Beauty and Wisdom of God’s Design for Marriage – A Millennial’s Perspective.” “Her presentation was thought-provoking and was very well received,” stated Jennifer Ruggiero who heads the diocese’s Secretariat for Family and Pastoral Life. She added that several months later, when the director position became vacant, Cristina came to mind immediately as a possible candidate and was ultimately chosen to lead the office.
“Cristina comes to us with a passion for marriage and family life as well as an educational background in Spanish, Theology and Psychology. Her campus ministry experience also has given her the opportunity to work closely with young adults. This well-rounded background will serve as an asset as we work to collaborate more as a Secretariat in our mission to evangelize and form missionary disciples,” Ruggiero stated.
After graduating from St. Jerome Elementary School in West Long Branch and Red Bank Catholic High School, D’Averso-Collins entered Villanova University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Humanities and Spanish. “In college I had some wonderful professors in Humanities. We studied St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body and a variety of Catholic and classical philosophy,” she said.
Noting that the topics of marriage and family always peaked her interest,” and she wanted to help people as much as possible particularly because there was so much divorce, in college, D’Averso-Collins thought she would like to do marriage counseling. She decided to pursue that goal when one of her Villanova professors told her about The Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family where his father was a dean.
The Institute is located on the campus of The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. She said, she thought, “this would be perfect, and enrolled in its Master of Theological Studies program. In 2013, she received her degree in marriage and family and for the next two years worked at the Institute. She helped the heads of Institute’s PhD and doctoral programs and assisted a few of the professors.
While a student at the John Paul II Institute, D’Averso-Collins attended a class taught by a professor from the Divine Mercy University in Arlington, Virginia. She was so impressed by what she learned about Divine Mercy that in 2014 she enrolled in its online program which had just been established when she started.
Recalling her decision to pursue another master’s, she said, “Since I always wanted a degree in psychology, the program at Divine Mercy was a perfect fit. It was specifically designed for people, like me, who were working in pastoral ministry.” She was, at the time, working at the John Paul II Institute.
D’Averso-Collins received her masters in General Psychology from Divine Mercy Institute in 2016. She said that although the program was non-clinical, she came to realize that she preferred pastoral ministry to being a clinician.
It was in 2014, too, that D’Averso-Collins reached out to the Diocese of Trenton inquiring if they had any opportunities where she could work in the area of marriage or marriage prep. Her inquiry resulted in her becoming a member of the diocese’s Marriage Study Commission. In 2014, the Commission developed the diocese’s Plan for Strengthening Marriage. Approved by Bishop David O’Connell, the plan, as described on the diocese’s website, “offers diocesan-wide objectives and particular strategies for the diocese and for parishes.
“Building Strong Marriages requires a bold new perspective in the way we minister to married couples and families in our parishes. The marital relationship needs to be strengthened and sustained every day, in every situation and every stage of married life. The parish thus becomes the community of support for all Catholic families.”
During the year-long project, D’Averso-Collins was told Monmouth University had a position open for a Campus Minister. She returned to New Jersey, where she resides in Ocean and joined the staff of Monmouth. Among her responsibilities was leading the marriage readiness program for students. She shared what she learned in that position at the Metuchen Diocese’s Critical Life Issues conference.
Three months before joining the Metuchen Diocese, D’Averso-Collins and her husband, Brian, welcomed their first child. It’s not surprising that the baby girl is named Gianna after St. Gianna Beretta Molla, the first canonized woman who was a 'working mom.'
Reflecting on her new position as director, diocesan Office of Family Life, D’Averso-Collins said: “I am so excited to begin this new journey. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, I hope to assist the Diocese of Metuchen in bringing the good news about God’s plan for family life to all, particularly a younger generation, which desperately seeks meaning and authenticity. Far from being outmoded, the teachings of Christ in His Church are able to bring renewed hope and to foster a vibrant community within our diocese and the wider culture.”
By Joanne Ward
