I just realized that, as a Catholic blogger, I’ve never shared my conversion story.
I love hearing others’ stories about how they discovered the joy that that can only be found in the Church; how they found that, in Jesus’ flock, there is a cloud of witnesses—so many Saintly brothers and sisters looking out for us that we are never truly alone!
It was the year that St. Pope John Paul II died, and it was my dear mother who made everything happen.
I remember that he was giving his Easter blessing that night—trying, as he could no longer speak without difficulty—and my mom knew that his time on this earth was almost at an end.
She went to the bedroom and woke up my brother and I; she turned on the television so that we, too, could see him for the last time.
I still thank my mother, to this day, for making sure I had that last holy glimpse of him. The next time I saw him was after he had died, during his funeral.
Soon after this, Mom decided that my brother and I, who had not been baptized in any church yet (because half of our family are LDS, we were to be given the chance to choose for ourselves) needed to be part of a faith. She asked us to pray about it and decide what we wanted to be.
I didn’t have much to think about, really; I remembered feeling protected when my grandmother on my mom’s side would visit with her little saint statues.
These were visual reminders that there was something else. I wanted to know what that other thing was.
We went to church for the first time in our lives. I remember being awed by how big the church was, not just the building, but the sense of joy and unity within.
Not long after that, my brother and I were baptized. We received our First Holy Communion. We were home.
After my baptism, I entered a frenzy of wanting to learn more about the Church, the saints, the sacraments, history, and devotions. Perhaps I tried to get into theology too early, as I burned myself out on all of the things to know, and lost interest as a teenager. Recently, though, I have grown interested again. There is so much to know!
In rough times, when I have thought the Church perhaps too demanding or judged myself as wanting in the Communion of Saints, I’ve felt myself comforted by Mother Mary and the Saints—particularly St. Thérèse and my patron saints, Rose of Lima and Catherine of Siena. I think that St. John Paul II has also been watching over me; after all, he is the first “saint” I knew of before I was baptized, and I did see him alive.
I’m in love with the Church and all it has kept for us over the centuries. I acknowledge that there have been bad Popes, that the human aspect of the Church has led to decisions that were not Christlike. This does not change my love for her.
Until we are all in Heaven, we will all make mistakes.
What’s your story?
Mariella Hunt 
Sts. Rose of Lima and Catherine of Siena, as well as St. Thérèse, whom I consider to be my friend, are great saints. 😍 I got baptized 6 years ago in an Evangelical Protestant church, and, very long story made very short, was confirmed as a Catholic and received first Holy Communion 3 years ago, on June 4, 2017.
The full story is so complicated that even I can hardly explain it well. 😅
Thank you for sharing this! Im in the process of converting to Catholicism. God Bless!
Welcome home!
Good story. I’m a cradle Catholic so I don’t really have one to be honest.
I grew up Protestant and entered the Catholic church just a couple months after Pope Francis was elected Pope – along with my wife and children. He’s the Pope I feel closest to myself. It helps that he’s from the same country my extended family is from, too. Bonus. :)
I love hearing others’ stories! Thank you for sharing!
Short version: I grew up Catholic. Became an “evangelical protestant” when I was in my later teens. Kept asking the hard questions. Returned to the Catholic Church 13 years later. My wife and children also came into full communion with the Church . Now, I am a deacon.
This is a wonderful story! It’s so good to be home, isn’t it?
Absolutely! I should blog about it one of these days.
I would love to read it! Would you like to guest post on my Catholic blog? Writecatholic.wordpress.com :)
I’ll talk to my wife about it. Maybe we’ll write it together. We can post it on our site, growinggrand.net and you can re-post it if you like or vice-versa.
I’ll follow your site then! Always nice to meet a new blogger!
You could also write about something else like your favorite Saint, as my blog focuses a lot on Saint stories!
Good morning Mariella. I’m debating on a post slightly focused on the saints who converted me back to Catholicism and Saint Joseph whom I have turned to in marriage and work. The newly proclaimed year of St Joseph may get me to lean in his direction :)
I would love to feature a story like that! Please do share it with me! It would fit well on my Catholic blog! Have I given you the link to it? writecatholic.wordpress.com