Following is the story of my family’s journey back to the one true faith. Thank you to Lisa Spellman for compiling it.

Our Journey Back Home

In many ways, Gene and Judy Michael’s story is very similar to the other conversion stories posted on the CREDO website thus far. Like the other Catholic converts, they were driven by a desire for truth and a love for knowledge. Like many others, their journey to the Catholic Church was a broken path, marked by change, searching, and learning.

Yet, there is one key difference between this married couple and the other converts who have shared their stories thus far: Gene and Judy actually started their lives as Catholics. However, after reaching adulthood, they spent decades away from the Church. For most of this time, they abstained from formal religion altogether. They spent a good deal of time searching for an expression of faith and spirituality that suited them. When they rejoined the Church, they grew to have a much greater appreciation and mature understanding of the faith, as well as a passion for Catholic tradition and values. Gene and Judy are converts in the sense they eventually opened their hearts and minds to the one true faith.

Born and baptized in the Church, both Gene and Judy grew up in Catholic households in the Rochester area. Judy, in particular, remembers the example set by her late father, who was a devout Catholic. Their backgrounds growing up were similar, and their paths unknowingly crossed several times before meeting as young adults.

As a young person, Gene tended to be intrigued by the mystery of the spiritual world. Some of this was related to the Catholic Church. In particular, he remembers a childhood fascination with story of Fatima: the Blessed Virgin’s apparitions to three Portuguese children in the early 20^th century. He ascribes some of this fascination to the anticipation surrounding the Vatican’s promise to reveal the third secret of Fatima in 1960. Though, at the time, the pope elected not to reveal the secret, Gene remained in awe of the story of Fatima. This interest continued throughout his adult life.

It wasn’t until after high school that both Judy and Gene began to drift away from Catholicism. Much of this was due to the social influences of the time, the early 1970’s. Judy recalls that, “It was an angry time and so much ‘reform’ spilled over into so many fields”. This included a rebellion against the authority of the Catholic Church. Young people were particularly affected and involved. Gene also reflects on the time period, saying, “Everything was working against being a Catholic.”

During college, Judy attended Mass some of the time. As a young adult, Gene stopped going altogether. He attended college for a period of time but went into the working world without earning his diploma. He found a job working in the construction field, installing underground utility systems. During his off time, he focused on party going and other social interests.

Gene met Judy during this time, and they eventually became engaged. Given their backgrounds, they planned a wedding in a local Catholic Church. While attending pre-Cana classes in 1974, they vividly remember a rebellious attitude amongst their fellow engaged couples. “A lot of people were questioning the Catholic Church and its authority, “Gene said. Both he and Judy were in agreement: “Who was the Catholic Church to tell us what to do?’” The quibbling was somewhat distracting and counterproductive. The pre-Cana instructors actually had to separate out several members of the class into a special group, which included Gene and Judy!

Despite this, they went on to have their wedding in the Catholic Church. However, their life as newlyweds marked the beginning of a fourteen year absence from the practice of formal religion. They occasionally attended Mass, but it was infrequent and sporadic.

Judy and Gene are both are spiritual people, and were so even during this time. Gene emphasizes that, “I was never was atheist and I was never agnostic”. They believed in God. But the lack of a strong faith commitment left a void in their lives, and it was natural for them to want to fill this. They eventually found an outlet in the late 1970’s.

At this time, Judy and Gene became involved with the New Age movement. Gene, an avid reader, became caught up with the writings of Shirley MacLaine and other New Age authors. They explored God as a state of higher cosmic consciousness and believed in reincarnation. They practiced transcendental meditation, attended their local Zen Center, and spent a period of time as vegetarians. While they didn’t keep up with all these practices, they continued to practice transcendental meditation for a long time.

During this period, Gene also became a firefighter. He loved his career and became very involved with his work.

Eventually, it was their children who motivated them to attend church on a regular basis. In 1984, Gene and Judy had their first daughter. She was born extremely prematurely, and spent her first several months in intensive care. Gene and Judy were amazed at how hard she fought to live and how hard the doctors and nurses worked to save her. It gave them deep appreciation for the sanctity of pre-born life. In 1987 they joyfully adopted their second daughter.

As the girls grew older, Judy and Gene read to them from “Little House on the Prairie”. When the oldest was four, she asked her parents why she did not go to Sunday school like the characters in the book. It was this that motivated Judy and Gene to think about joining a church. As mentioned earlier, they attended church infrequently. Gene describes it as, “We kept testing the waters, but our daughter got us to commit”. Still, they had no particular desire to return to the Catholic Church.

It was now 1988, and this turned out to be a remarkable year for them in many ways. “In hindsight, perhaps God was trying to get my attention,” ponders Gene. In February, he was involved in a dramatic rescue and resuscitation of a baby trapped in a building fire. The child was the same age as their younger daughter, which notably made an impact on him. A month to the day later, Gene was in a bad car accident where he sustained multiple injuries. In the fall, he rescued another child from a burning building, again the same age as his younger daughter. Finally, that December he suffered significant burns on the job and had to spend several months recuperating at home. During this time, he began to get serious about joining a church, a welcome respite from focusing on his injuries. “Being at home reminded me that there was more to life than just work,” he said.

All Saints Episcopal Church was just down the road and seemed a logical and convenient choice. The pastoral assistant visited them during Gene’s recuperation and answered their questions about the church. They started attending services. Judy describes All Saints as “very familiar” to them because of their Catholic backgrounds. It was conservative, orthodox parish, which based its worship and teachings on the Bible. Because of its orthodoxy, All Saints was somewhat unique in the area. “In some ways, it was more Catholic than some Catholic churches”, Gene describes. All Saints fit them well, and they had found a home.

Thus began a seven year period of faithful church attendance and parish participation. Their daughters, previously un-baptized, were christened at All Saints. Judy and Gene got involved in various activities, and met a nice group of people with children the same age as their daughters. Judy taught Sunday school and Vacation Bible School. The family attended bible study every Thursday night for years. The adults would talk, the children would play, and it grew to be very comfortable and familiar…as well as spiritually rewarding. They were doing something good for themselves and their family.

Unfortunately, trouble at All Saints had been simmering for a long time. Like most churches that experience problems, the result was turmoil amongst the congregation. This eventually caused many members to leave, which made a notable difference in the parish climate.

Eventually, these problems were significant enough for Judy and Gene to also leave All Saints. After seven years, they decided it was for the best.

At the time, their daughters were attending a non-denominational Christian school nearby. This school was supported by several churches, but most predominantly by a local Dutch Calvinist church. Since Judy and Gene knew a lot of the school’s parents who were also members of this church, they decided to join. They began attending services and grew to like the young pastor there.

They attended this church for two years. During this time, they were never formally received into the church as Reformed Christians. They considered going through the official ceremony, but did not commit. Judy intuitively thought that it wasn’t the right place for them to find spiritual fulfillment.

During this time, Gene saw an ad for a book called “Surprised by truth” by Patrick Madrid. “Surprised by Truth” is a collection of stories about evangelical Christians who converted to Catholicism. The personal testimonies describe the biblical, theological, and historical reasons for their choices. Gene was intrigued by the title. “I am philosophically drawn to truth; it’s a part of my personality”. He cut out the ad and set it aside for a period of time.

Several months later, Gene came upon “Surprised by Truth” in a bookstore. He bought the book. After reading it, he said, “I knew I was going to rejoin the Catholic Church….Reading these stories of conversion opened up my mind in a dramatic way. I was profoundly struck by the uniqueness and truthfulness of the Catholic faith”. Ironically, shortly before starting the book, he had said to some friends, “The last place we will ever end up is in the Catholic Church”. He felt fairly confident about this: “I didn’t believe in the priesthood, the pomp and circumstance…..now, I realize this was simply immaturity and ignorance.”

“Surprised by Truth” was a new beginning for both Gene and Judy. Always avid readers, they began to explore Catholic literature with a newfound interest. “We studied our way back into the church’” Gene says. Literature opened their minds and hearts to the possibility of returning to the Catholic Church. When they ran out of room for all the books, Gene checked out books from a local school of theology. He read all of the New Catechism and they also began to watch EWTN. Gene says, “Mother Angelica, in particular, was very persuasive. Her ability to communicate simply the truths of the Catholic faith made it especially accessible.”

At the same time, things weren’t working out at the Christian Reform church. Judy recounts attending a bible study and hearing an interesting presentation about the history of the church. “I realized that, up until the 1500’s, it was the history of the Catholic Church.” She also realized that she was bothered, at times, by some of the anti-Catholic attitudes among some of the parishioners. In the end, Judy says, “I realized we weren’t Calvinist or even Protestant”.

Six months after reading “Surprised by Truth”, Gene and Judy decided to rejoin the Catholic Church. They found the personal testimonies of the writers in this book very persuasive. Many of them had impeccable Protestant theological credentials before they converted to Catholicism.

They started by going to Mass sometimes, and it took awhile for them to find a church they liked. After their experience at All Saints, their standards were high. They attended a different church every week and eventually settled on one in particular. The girls received their First Holy Communion and Confirmation on Easter of 1999. Other than Confession, the other sacraments were not necessary for Gene and Judy, as they had already been baptized Catholics and had received all of the first sacraments.

While they felt they were making the right decision, their return to the Catholic Church was not necessarily a smooth transition. Specifically, they found some contradictions between what they had read- what drew them back to the Catholic Church in the first place- and the practices in their new church. First of all, a priest told them their daughters did not need to make a first Confession before receiving their first Holy Communion. Their oldest daughter was in the seventh grade, almost a young adult, and they knew this was not in line with the teaching in the Church’s Catechism. The advice they received from their pastor was somewhat neutral, though he did eventually agree to hear the girls’ confessions.

They eventually learned about the St. Irenaeus Center, an orthodox Catholic ministry in Rochester, dedicated to advancing the gospel through prayer, fellowship, and adult education. They got in touch with the director, David Higbee. St Irenaeus was very helpful and supportive in helping them attain solid footing in their Catholic faith.

Despite some disappointment, for the most part, they liked the parish at first. Soon, however, it underwent some unsettling changes, including the departure of the priest. Leadership of the church was largely transferred to lay personnel, who had a desire to do things their own way. This resulted in some very unorthodox methods of conducting Mass. Gene and Judy began to feel very uncomfortable.

In 2000, they found another local Catholic Church which they liked very much. “It was like going back to All Saints”, they describe. Here, they found lots of substance in the liturgy, a solid core of orthodoxy, and respect for faith and tradition. At this time, Gene began to speak about his “conversion story” at various Catholic functions in the areas. Through this, Gene and Judy met and became friends with many other Catholics in the area, some from different parishes. Judy started attending prayer group on Tuesday mornings.

This period lasted several years, and it was a very supportive environment for the whole family to learn and grow in the Catholic faith. Their daughters attended Sunday school. Their younger daughter, in particular, had to learn quickly. She remained at the non-denominational school. As the only Catholic, and a new one at that, she had to develop good debating skills and often had to answer questions about the faith from other students.

Gene and Judy spent a lot of time explaining to their children the rationale behind their decisions. Over the years, they worried that all the religious change would be disruptive for their girls. “It actually worked to our advantage, because we involved them in the reasons for the decisions. The learned a lot from us.”

Later, when their church was clustered with another church, they were concerned about the impact this would have. They eventually began attending Our Lady of Victory in downtown Rochester. They love Our Lady of Victory.

Today, Judy and Gene are both active in the pro-life community and in sharing their faith with others. They spend time every day in prayer and reflection on God’s word. It would seem as though their spiritual search has come full circle, except they are continuing on their journey: growing spiritually and learning more and more about their faith every day.

May God continue to bless them and their family.