Become Catholic

Last year, I was blessed with the arrival of my first child, and so my spirit thirsted for a strong faith on which to build our home. This past Easter, I entered into full communion with the Catholic Church. My wife, who was raised Catholic, returned to the Church, and together we received the Sacrament of Matrimony. Our daughter, Marie, was baptized shortly after. Receiving the Eucharist, participating in the sacramental life of the Church, and the fellowship I've found keep my eyes aimed at the path the Lord calls us to. I know that the Lord has given me everything I have, with nothing being my own, as the hope in my heart could only come from Him.

I was raised as Southern Baptist, but I stopped believing when I hit my teenage years. I claimed to be atheist for several years, but I still always felt that there had to be something more than just living and dying on a meaningless planet. I dabbled in other spiritual practices and religions seeking answers, but found none that I could truly believe in. Then, in 2024, I began attending a Church of Christ church and slowly started finding my faith in Jesus again. However, given I lived so many years as an atheist, I couldn't help but still hold on to my skepticism. I wanted to believe so badly, but I struggled there for a while. I felt lost and confused, trying to decipher what was right or wrong, and what was true or false. After doing some research into Catholicism, I agreed to take OCIA classes at St. Leo's in Russellville, Arkansas with my now-fiancé, and I am so glad I did because I truly believe I have found the one true Church founded by Jesus Christ. The doubts that I had no longer exist. Discovering how Jesus is fully present in Body, Blood, and Spirit in the Eucharist was my personal favorite sacrament to learn about in my OCIA classes. Now, I have never been more certain of not only God's existence, but that He came down from Heaven, was Incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary, and was made Man — Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.

I was originally a United Methodist member because I was born into it, but I lost most of my faith growing up. When I got into college though, I searched for more meaning in my life and started having faith in Christ again. Soon I became a member of a Church of Christ congregation so that I could learn more about Christianity. When I started my dive into Church history, I started to see Catholicism as the one true church rather than Church of Christ. The Ante-Nicene Church Fathers showed me that Sacred Tradition has as much value as Sacred Scripture.

My favorite teaching in Catholicism is the infallibility of the Church. Matthew 16:18 “And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.” I believe that when Christ says that evil will not prevail against his Church he meant it, and that the Church can never error enough to fall or lead the Body of Christ into Hell. I can always rely on the Church to never lead me astray, God bless Christ's one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.

I converted to Catholicism at the age of forty. Looking back now, I can see that it was not a sudden decision but the culmination of a long journey. God was patiently leading to Him, even when I had no idea He was at work in my life. He guided me in the way He knew I needed, one step at a time, until I was finally ready to respond.

I grew up with an agnostic way of thinking. My family had a complicated religious history. My grandparents had fallen away from the Catholic Church, and my parents were raised Southern Baptist. As a result, religion was never really a part of my childhood. We didn't attend church, pray together, or talk much about faith. Although I believed God existed, my belief was distant and undefined. I saw Him as the greatest force in existence — the Creator of the universe and everything in it — but I never knew Him personally. I never stopped to ask myself what I truly believed or why.

That changed when my cousin unexpectedly died from a drug overdose. He was young and healthy, and his death shook me in a way nothing else ever had. For the first time in my life, I was forced to confront my own mortality. I realized that life was fragile and unpredictable. I asked myself a question I had never seriously considered before: If I died today, what do I actually believe? I knew I didn't want to reach the end of my life without searching for the answer.

That question led me to pick up the Bible for the first time. I didn't read it to prove or disprove anything. I simply wanted to know the truth. As I continued reading, the Scriptures began to make sense in a way I never expected. Instead of being just an ancient book, I found a living story that revealed who God is and how He works in the lives of His people. The more I read, the more I began to recognize His presence in my own life.

I started seeing moments that had once seemed like coincidences in a completely different light. Years earlier, two different people had given me gifts that I never fully appreciated at the time — a Bible from one person and a rosary from another. For reasons I couldn't explain then, I kept both of them, even though I wasn't religious. I also remembered a coworker who had invited me to attend Mass years before. At the time, I attended out of curiosity but didn't think much of it. Looking back now, I don't believe those moments were random. They were quiet invitations from God, patiently waiting for the day when I would be ready to answer.

As I continued to pray, study, and learn about Christianity, I found myself increasingly drawn to the Catholic Church. The more I explored its teachings, history, and traditions, the more I became convinced that this was where God had been leading me all along. What had once seemed like disconnected events throughout my life now formed a single story — a story of God's providence, patience, and mercy.

Converting to Catholicism at forty was not the end of my journey but the beginning of a new one. I am grateful that God never stopped pursuing me, even when I wasn't looking for Him. He was working through people, circumstances, and quiet moments for years before I recognized His hand. When I finally opened my heart to Him, I realized He had been guiding me toward His Church all along.

I grew up Protestant, attending many churches in my youth. My family attended the local Lutheran church for most of my youth, until the pastor left and we faded away, spontaneously attending other churches. I went to preschool/primary school daycare at a Presbyterian church and attended youth group and summer camps at Methodist churches. I even attended some Jehovah's Witnesses services. In late middle school, many of my friends were attending youth group at a non-denominational Christian church, so I started going there. It was at this church where I really started to develop my own faith. I was super involved: played piano during services, attended youth group, and led some younger classes. I was baptized at this church, and started questioning things for myself.

My extended family is Catholic, and I attended some Christmas/Easter Masses with them. At this point, I had been to so many different churches and they were all so different but similar. Something I particularly loved were the more structured churches, but I did not know how to piece that together.

When I was 17, I started dating my now fiancé, Anthony. Everyone in his family is Catholic and would invite me to Mass on Sundays. I would attend with them occasionally. Around this same time was when I moved to college. Away at undergraduate college I no longer had a church, but would go and visit Anthony on the weekends and we would attend Mass together. I always went because attending church has always been important to me. I had so many questions and we could always find answers. I remember the first Mass I attended — we got back into the car with him and his dad and I asked “Where was the Bible? How can you have a church service without the Bible? Why are there so many motions? I don't know what to do!” At the next Mass I attended, I paid more attention to the booklets and to what was going on. Anthony and his dad answered my questions the best they could and I stayed curious.

Throughout my undergraduate years, Anthony and I occasionally attended Mass together. I did not think much of it beyond just attending church — but as our relationship progressed so did our conversations. I remember being at the dinner table around Christmas time when his mom asked me what my religion was. I responded “Uhh…Christian?” And she asked me what type. I did not know how to answer, but that led into a conversation of their family's Christmas and holiday traditions that revolved around being Catholic. She wanted to make sure I felt comfortable participating in them as it was my first Christmas with his family.

I remained very “lukewarm” for a few years, attending Mass inconsistently, asking questions, learning the gestures. Anthony and I talked about our future, if marriage was possible, and how that would look for our kids. At this point, I had been really enjoying attending Mass. I had fallen in love with the structure and history of Mass and the fact it was so organized and dated back so far and has changed very little. No matter where we were, we could attend Mass and it was the same. After bouncing around so many churches in my youth, the organized consistency was comforting. We talked about marriage and ultimately decided that it would be optimal to raise our children in the Catholic faith.

For me, I was happy that I finally found my home, but I was so nervous to approach anyone to see how I could join. I was an adult, about to graduate college, and about to move. Most people join the church as children, or so I thought. We reached out to someone at Anthony's home parish and they recommended to find a church where I would be attending graduate school. That way I could start my process there because it can take over a year. My initial thoughts were “Wow…a whole year? How can it take a whole year to join the Church?” I talked to my parents about it; they were very supportive as both their families had history with the Catholic Church but ultimately left it up to me.

In 2023 I graduated, got into a master's program down at Arkansas Tech University, and moved to Russellville. I had just moved 4 hours away from my boyfriend to a whole new town where I knew no one. It took me a few months to adjust, and I did not attend any churches for several months. At ATU, the university church communities were very kind and offered free lunches. In fact, the first time I attended St. Leo's Church was for a free lunch. My classmates continued to go weekly until summertime.

This was my first summer in Russellville, and my life started to slow down a little. I started thinking deeper about my faith, my life, and my future. I had just over a year left of graduate school, and Anthony and I had talked about marriage after my graduation. I knew I wanted to learn more about the Catholic faith and joining the Church, and so I thought “You know what? There is one right here, after all…” I worked up the courage on an evening jog to walk into St. Leo's and told them that I was interested in learning more and wanted to become a member of the Church. That is when I met Fr. Shekhar — he was so delighted to see me and invited me to Mass. He told me when the school year starts back up, they would start an OCIA class if I would like to attend.

I attended Mass a few times, but not consistently yet, and when the school year started I was so excited for these classes to begin. They finally started about mid-semester as a group style of learning more. It wasn't until the following semester when we started the formal program. Fr. Shekhar told me I would be meeting with Connor in a one-on-one style class, and that it will be good and not to worry. I was graduating that May and I did not know where I'd end up after graduation — so we made a plan of meeting twice a week because I did not want to start at one parish and finish at another. We started diving deep into all the theology, and I learned so much. It was a very comfortable environment that allowed me to learn at my own pace and ask all the questions I wanted to. Anthony even attended the classes when he could and we learned it all together. Anthony supported me the entire time and talked about all the lessons with me. It was very nice to have such a nice support group between Anthony and the members of St. Leo's.

I received my sacraments at the 2025 Easter Vigil and became a member of the Catholic Church. Anthony and I attend Mass every week together, and we just finished up marriage preparation. We will be receiving the sacrament of Holy Matrimony at the end of August. Our Catholicism has become a way of life. Having that solid foundation to fall back on, a Mass to attend wherever we are, and the other Sacraments are nothing short of amazing. I look forward to growing in my faith and raising my family in the Church. I am also very appreciative of St. Leo's Parish for the support, the answers to my millions of questions, and allowing me to be a part of their OCIA program.