Journey Home

Dr. Brian Duncan graduated high school early and went straight into Baptist ministry training. On fire for Jesus, he was constantly seeking deeper resources to help him teach the faith, which led him to discover the Church Fathers. Teaching from them caused problems in his independent Baptist congregation, so he spent a little time in a Reformed Baptist church, which also didn’t work out. Disillusioned, he sought a house church environment, at which point he realized it was time for him to stop trying to reinvent and reclaim the Christianity of the early Church; and what he'd been trying to rebuild on his own initiative was present in its fulness right in front of him in the Catholic Faith. He has since gone on to found Catholic Fightwear, and work as a martial arts instructor.

Amanda Martin came from a strong Christian background, and her husband became an Episcopalian priest. Not coming from a liturgical or sacramental Christian experience, she experienced significant opposition from family who thought she was making a huge mistake and overcomplicating Christianity with rituals and external piety. She shares some of the ways she prayed and discerned through that process, and how she and her husband eventually moved together toward full communion with the Catholic Church.

Fr. Doug Martin grew up in a Godly United Methodist family, but didn’t start taking a call to ministry seriously until college, where exposure to various Christian traditions led him to research Church history. At that time, he became Episcopalian, and eventually was ordained an Episcopal priest. After realizing the need for a stronger way of understanding of Christian authority, he gravitated toward the Catholic Church, entering itin 2001 as a layman. Several years later, he revisited the idea of his call to ministry, and was ordained a Catholic priest in 2019.

Deacon Lee Ashton was raised Episcopalian, but when he joined the military, he felt a disconnection from that faith tradition, and began to search for a new Christian community. For 27 years, he got involved in Evangelical congregations, having some great experiences with them along the way. However, he began to realize that different churches were preaching differently on different passages, and that caused him to yearn for a deeper and more authoritative interpretation of Scripture. He began to research the Reformation, and what he found in his study of Church history began to surprise him. When Pope Benedict XVI issued Anglicanorum Coetibus, allowing a new pathway for those with Anglican backgrounds to become Catholic, he knew this was his opportunity to come home to the Catholic Church.

Dr. John Bruchalski of Divine Mercy Care and Kerstin Pakka of Project Rachel in the Diocese of Toledo share the stories of how they came from believing in a right to abortion, to having a radical encounter with the forgiveness of Christ that has since empowered each of them to work to build a culture of life and promote access to the kind of care that leads others like themselves to heal from the wounds of abortion.

Deacon Lester Loh came from a Presbyterian family, but by early childhood was already completely tuned out of anything related to faith. Over the years, a couple of his siblings became Catholic, which caught his attention, but he didn’t take it too seriously. He ended up dating ad eventually marrying a Catholic, observing her faith from afar until eventually he began to feel convicted to take the extra step to see what God would do if he opened the door to his heart. He ended up going through RCIA together with his wife’s mom, who also had been on the fringes of Catholicism for years. He joyfully entered the Church, and a few years later, discerned a vocation to the diaconate.

Reza Akhtar was raised Muslim in Canada, but was not particularly observant. At a private elementary school, he became exposed to basic Protestant Christianity, but it was in college that he began to explore it more deeply. He married a Catholic, but wasn’t quite ready to make the full leap into the Church, so he spent a few years in an Anglican congregation, before he felt God calling him home to a full sacramental life as a Catholic.

Taylor Kemp was baptized Catholic, but early in his life, soccer effectively became his religion, taking up not only all his time on Sundays, as well as all his attention and affection. The more success he found, the more inadequate he felt, realizing that he had made himself and his soccer skills the measure of everything. By the time he had become a professional player in the MLS with DC United, he had developed a spiritual hunger that eventually began to be fulfilled when he met his future wife, a Catholic who encouraged him to take a look at the Church he’d left as a kid. Taylor went through RCIA and was confirmed, and is now on fire for his faith, working to to develop faith formation programs with the Augustine Institute.

As the son of a pastor, Luke Nelson grew up surrounded by people of deep faith. Following his own call to ministry, he attended Bible college and served for 25 years in the Wesleyan Church. There were several issues that began to trouble him, but among them was the question of the Lord’s Supper. In his Wesleyan/Methodist tradition, it was considered important, but he couldn’t articulate all the aspects of why that should be the case. Digging deeper into the history and tradition of Holy Communion compelled him to take seriously the case that the Catholic Church made for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Dino Remedios grew up nominally Catholic, absorbing much of what he knew about the faith from the Filipino culture he came from. In his teenage years, he began to drift more into relativistic lines of thought, becoming a practical agnostic. Over time, however, he found that the answers offered by materialism were dissatisfying, and through a discovery process that involved philosophy, beauty, and even a Marian conversion, Dino found his way back to the Catholic Church.

Joe Ward was adopted from foster care in New York, and attended a number of different churches growing up, including Presbyterian, Methodist and Mennonite congregations. In his college years, he became extremely interested in Calvinist theology, and explored it deeply while also doing work with InterVarsity Fellowship. After graduating, Joe went on to teach music, and became part of the worship team at an Evangelical Free church. When the leadership team there encouraged him to take membership classes, it got him thinking about differences between denominations and what it meant to fully declare membership in one. His study of that question led him to begin exploring Catholicism, but when that became public, he was asked to stop being on the worship team. That forced Joe to reckon more seriously with the question of Christian authority, eventually leading him to the conviction that he needed to become Catholic.

Seth and Julianne met each other in small town Ohio, and even though Seth was raised Catholic, that took a bit of a back seat as he focused all his attention on using his skills as a kicker to try and break into the NFL. They eventually ended up in a Presbyterian congregation together, but they began to struggle with the question of how they should approach receiving communion in the various churches they visited. At one point, there was conflict in the Presbyterian church they were part of on major moral questions, and it got them back to the core question of authority. After years of wrestling and discerning together, they became convicted that they both needed to come home to the Catholic Church.

Megan Thomas grew up heavily involved in her Baptist world, steeped in Scripture, prayer, mission trips, and more. However, she still felt like something was missing in the way she understood Christianity. As she grew older and she began to take greater ownership of her faith, Megan realized that a lot of the arguments she was using to defend her faith had their greatest roots in the Catholic intellectual tradition. That revolutionized her Christian worldview, and helped her complete the incomplete picture of Christianity she’d been struggling with for years.

Dr. Kent Hill has had a front-row seat to some of the most important ecumenical moments in American Christianity over the last several decades. Along with his roles in international development, Kent also served as president of Eastern Nazarene College, and was an original signer of the 1994 document "Evangelicals and Catholics Together." He shares the story of the relationships, prayer, and reflections that eventually led him home to the Catholic Faith.

In Eduardo Faria’s experience as a Presbyterian pastor in Brazil, he was deeply in love with his faith and passionate about teaching it. But when some significant questions about the nature of the early Church and Christian authority led him to explore Catholicism, it also raised many questions about what this might mean for his ministry, his family, and where God might be calling him now after years of Protestant ministry.

Fr. Jerry Byrd was raised Baptist, and had a strong interest in music. When a high school friend announced they were becoming Catholic, he decided to go to Mass to see what it was all about. Having played music in his Baptist church, he was drawn immediately to the beauty of the liturgy, and the truth of the Eucharist. He decided to enter the Church, and ended up discerning a vocation to the priesthood.

Everett Franklin was a US Army chaplain for twenty years, serving on behalf of the Church of God (Cleveland, TN). His family had been in that particular Pentecostal denomination for four generations, so it was surprising to him that over time, his desire to grow deeper in his Christian faith kept leading him more and more toward discovering the Real Presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist, and a home in the Catholic Church.

A strong Christian who served as a pastor in the Church of the Nazarene and nondenominational settings, Chuck Gaidica was also a successful TV anchor who began to understand the truth and beauty of Catholicism, and eventually, through questions about the nature of ministry, and the influence of fellow Catholic journalists, felt called home to the Catholic Church.

Elvis Gutierrez was raised Catholic, but as a young man, was living a reckless lifestyle. When the 9/11 attacks happened, he was serving as an EMT in New York City, and those events marked a major turning point in his life. He began over time to connect with strong spiritual mentors, who helped him heal from some of the hidden wounds he'd been carrying, and find peace in Jesus Christ and His Church.

Jeremy Rivera was raised Catholic, but left the faith at 18. In college, he was at a low point when he was invited to an Evangelical church; he ended up plugging into a Bible study, and began to experience a major turnaround in his life. Jeremy went on to attend seminary, and eventually pastored in Hawaii, California, and Denver. However, he began to be troubled at all the different expressions of Christianity he saw around him, and knew there had to be a true, authoritative version of Christianity. His desire to seek that out led him back to the Catholic Church.

Becca Dickerson always knew she'd be using her gifts to serve God in some way, but as an Evangelical Christian, she had difficulty discerning what shape that might take. Some of her friendships and experiences in ministry, especially during her time at Asbury College, began to open her up to the idea of the Catholic Faith, to the point where she could no longer sit on the fence about it; she knew she had to enter the Church.

Trapped in an abusive marriage, Pam Mings questioned her Baptist teachings. A friend turned her on to Catholicism, where she discovered St. Maria Goretti, patron of abused people.

Ellen went to Presbyterian, Baptist and nondenominational churches, while Gregory was an unenthusiastic Catholic. Their marriage resulted in his vocation and led her to the Church.

Fr. Ken Geraci grew up Catholic, but left the faith as a young man. He chased after fortune in the business world, eventually founding a highly successful software company. Unable to find happiness in all the ways he though would bring fulfillment, he revisited the idea of faith, coming back first to belief in God, then in Christianity, and eventually back to the Catholic Church. As part of that journey back, he recognized a call to the priesthood with the Fathers of Mercy.

Lee and Valiree Sondeno share how the COVID shutdowns caused them to reconsider the life of Pentecostal music ministry they'd devoted themselves to and begin to consider the claims of the Catholic Church.

Monica Anyango grew up Catholic in Uganda, but drifted from her faith. When she found herself a single mom in the United States, her desire to create some kind of structure in her life led her to revisit the disciplines and teachings of the Catholic Church she’d walked away from. The role of Mary was especially important in helping Monica establish a new spiritual compass and a new perspective on motherhood.

Matt and Rachel Sheils were Salvation Army officers who began to ask questions about the foundations of authority, morality, and the nature of what it meant to be part of a worshipping community. They took some time off to reflect on these questions and dive more deeply into Scripture, and in doing so, found themselves surprisingly drawn to the truth and beauty of the Catholic Church.

JonMarc Grodi and his guests address the personal obstacles, doctrinal objections, and the irresistible attraction to the Church Jesus founded 2,000 years ago.

Jack Williams, who serves as General Manager of EWTN Radio, shares his complicated path to the Catholic Church, from an on-fire "born again" conversion as a young man, through family struggles and eventually to the Catholic Church, through the persistent prayers of loved ones who never gave up on him. Some of you may also be familiar with the work of Jack's wife, Johnette Williams, host of EWTN's Women of Grace. Be sure to catch Jack's story!

John Bacon was raised Southern Baptist, and went to Beeson Divinity School. That seminary formation introduced him to the Church Fathers, and rather than going all the way to Catholicism, he discerned a call to priesthood as an Anglican. Several circumstances, including the onset of COVID-19, caused him to reconsider the meaning of his vocation, and where he was truly called to be. For John and his wife, the intercession of Mary and the saints -- especially St. Boniface -- were the final thing that really convinced them they needed to become Catholic.

Dan Venezia grew up Catholic, but didn't pay much attention to matters of faith; he was busier chasing a dream to play pro baseball. He ended up in the minor leagues with the Twins organization, and made some solid Christian friends along the way, but it was when that dream fell apart -- and especially when his world was turned upside down by COVID -- that Dan had a major conversion that would make him finally start taking his faith seriously.

Raised with a strong sense of right and wrong but no sense of Catholicism, Jeffrey Kirby’s faith caught fire. His search for a closer relationship with Jesus led to the priesthood.

Baptized a Catholic, Phillip Campbell grew spiritually hungry in his teens, and spent time in Protestant congregations. But he came back to his faith and reunited with his family.

Greg Willits grew up Catholic. His wife was in the Worldwide Church of God. After their child was baptized, they both had profound awakenings especially in regard to the Eucharist.

Being raised in a Wiccan family gave Nora Jensen an extremely cynical view towards Christianity. But when she came to Mass, she found herself surrounded by happy,, smiling people.

Seth Haines and his wife battled issues that led them down different paths, but with prayer and discernment, they both realized their true spiritual home was the Catholic Church.

Don McLane experimented with several faiths, and even felt a call to the Episcopalian priesthood. But he discovered a deeper understanding of the Eucharist in the Catholic Church.

Paul Rose always loved music, especially singing and songwriting. Upon discovering sacred music, he became even more enthralled with the religious patrimony of the Catholic Church.

Jerry McLellan is a stand-up comedian with a unique outlook on life. His views on Christianity evolved over time, leading him to eventually find a home in the Catholic Church.

Courtney Comstock shares the series of life experiences and questions that led her from a background in Pentecostalism to a home in the Catholic Church. JonMarc Grodi hosts

Santonio Hill was raised Catholic, but his big dream was to play college and pro football. When his pastor suggested the priesthood, he finally realized what was important in life.

Despite a lucrative career, Corwin Low found money and success weren’t fulfilling. Dominican friars in Italy helped him reset his priorities, and he ultimately chose to join them.

Justin Hibbard grew up in Evangelical communities, but COVID lockdowns caused him to re-evalute what it meant to be a Christian. Study and prayer led him to the Catholic Church.

Richard Wilson went to West Point and worked in finance after his service. But despite his Protestant upbringing, he felt a higher calling to serve the Lord as a Catholic priest.

André was Catholic and Angèle an Evangelical Protestant. When they married, their world views collided, leading to much debate and eventually a commitment to the Catholic faith.

Michael Mason found his faith both challenged and deepened at the Southern Evangelical Seminary. When it all sounded more Catholic than Protestant, he came home to the Church.

After her husband died, Jennifer Southers looked for ways to grow stronger in her faith. A pilgrimage to the Holy Land led her to Catholicism and a deeper relationship with God.

Baptized Catholic, Dustin Quick experimented with Islam as a teen. But after much study, he felt the truest expression of Christianity was in the Catholic faith he’d left behind.

Growing up a preacher’s kid, Deb Scaravilli fell in love with a Catholic man. She saw differences between Catholicism and her Evangelical roots, and found her true spiritual home.

Matt Gerald was raised in a faithful family of Methodist Protestants, many of whom were ministers. But when he married a Catholic, he discovered the beauty and truth of the faith.

Raised a Hindu, Brandon Vaidyanathan began attending a youth group with a Catholic girl he was dating. Hearing things about the nature of God he’d never heard from Hinduism, led him to embrace the Catholic Church.

Erik Baldwin was serious about his Presbyterian faith, until a scandal in his congregation led him to reevaluate everything. He realized he could no longer treat his interest in Catholicism as merely an academic exercise.

Lawain McNeil grew up in a strong Christian home, and early on, felt a call to ministry. He pursued a degree in Biblical studies and ended up serving in the Church of Christ. A number of factors in his life led him to begin exploring the Catholic Faith, including an interest in the Catholic literary and artistic tradition, and friendship with others who shared his background and were also interested in Catholicism. He shares how all those threads came together as he made his way home to the Catholic Church.

Kevin Shinkle was baptized in the Church of the Nazarene, but his family left the church when their pastor told his parents they had to stop smoking, and that brought an end to Kevin's churchgoing days for a while. He went on to college, and met some friends who were devout Catholics and helped him develop an initial curiosity about the Church. When his career as a journalist began to become more intense, he decided he needed a foundation of faith, and those seeds planted by his Catholic friendships began to bear fruit.

David Dean came from a Presbyterian background, and went on to college at Kansas University. At the time, it had an Applied Humanities program that focused on classical studies. Through the course of the program, a number of the professors and students became Catholic because of what they were finding about the Church’s role in the great philosophical and theological tradition, and David ended up entering the Church his senior year of college. He went on to spend a number of years working in Catholic education, and now serves as Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Diocese of Tulsa.

Kathryn Whitaker was baptized in a Methodist church as an infant in Texas, but after her pastor left, her family skipped around churches looking for a fit, including time spent with the Nazarenes and Disciples of Christ. Visiting Baptist churches in college, Kathryn heard her first real anti-Catholicism from the pulpit, and it shocked her and made her want to learn more about Catholicism, which she poured herself into. This led her to Catholic friendships, and eventually to marry a Catholic. Kathryn shares the incredible story behind how she ended up being confirmed Catholic and receiving her first Holy Communion, an hour before her wedding rehearsal dinner!

Mother Petra was raised in a family full of Wesleyan ministers, missionaries and church planters, and went on to study at Indiana Wesleyan. She became increasingly frustrated by divisions in Christianity over everything from Bible interpretation to worship practices, and at one point even stopped going to church. When one of her sisters became Catholic, it opened up to her the possibility that there really was an authoritative way to understand the reality of what it meant to be a Christian. She entered the Catholic Church, and eventually religious life at a Byzantine monastery.

Dr. Kathryn Wehr talks about her journey from studying the arts and theology at Bethel University and Regent College, being guided towards liturgy and history, entering the Catholic Church, and being a Dorothy L. Sayers scholar. Her most recent project is an annotated edition of Sayers' masterwork, The Man Born to be King.

Robert Tunmire talks to JonMarc Grodi about his journey from a secular lifestyle to the Catholic Faith.

JonMarc Grodi talks to Sharon Ripley, a former African Methodist Episcopal minister, about what led her to the Catholic Church.

Andrea Garrett, a former Evangelical and Anglican, talks to JonMarc Grodi about her journey to the Catholic Faith.

JonMarc Grodi talks to former Episcopal priest and seminary professor Dr. Tory Baucum about what led him to enter full communion with the Catholic Church.

Dr. Benjamin Lewis shares how his Methodist roots gave him the foundation of faith that led him to pursue a home in the Catholic Church. JonMarc Grodi hosts.

JonMarc Grodi talks to Sr. Julia Mary Darrenkamp of the Daughters of St. Paul about how friendship with the saints led her from Evangelical Protestantism to the Catholic Church.

Jon Sorensen from Catholic Answers shares the series of relationships and experiences that led him from agnosticism back to his Catholic Faith. JonMarc Grodi hosts.

Jonathon Spaid shares his journey from Evangelical Protestantism to Catholicism, and how he came to work in campus ministry with FOCUS. JonMarc Grodi hosts.

Former Anglican military chaplain Chris Moellering talks to JonMarc Grodi about his journey to the Catholic Church.

Kailash and Lily Duraiswami, who came from Hindu, atheist and agnostic backgrounds, share how they discovered beauty, goodness and truth in the Catholic Faith. JonMarc Grodi hosts.

JonMarc Grodi talks to Jeffrey Shott about his incredible journey from fundamentalist Christianity to angry atheism, and eventually to the Catholic Faith.

Fr. Sean Loomis, who works in deaf ministry for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, shares what led him to embrace the Catholic Faith and a vocation to the priesthood.

Sr. Diana Marie Andrews, who grew up in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, shares what led her to the Catholic Faith and a religious vocation with the Hawthorne Dominicans. JonMarc Grodi hosts.

Becky Carter talks to JonMarc Grodi about why she left the Catholic Church after getting married, and how her experience of “church shopping” and the question of Baptism led her back.

JonMarc Grodi talks to Kerstin Pakka about how healing after abortion brought her to faith and a spiritual home in the Catholic Church.

Dr. John Bruchalski shares how he went from being an OB/GYN who performed abortions to returning to his pro-life Catholic roots. JonMarc Grodi hosts.

Alicia Baker shares how her journey of healing from trauma and abuse led her back to the Catholic Church. JonMarc Grodi hosts.

Jeremy Christiansen, author of “From the Susquehanna to the Tiber,” shares his journey from the Latter Day Saints to the Catholic Church.

Ken Hensley, a former Baptist pastor, and Kenny Burchard, a former Foursquare pastor, share a bit about their journeys to the Catholic Faith, and dig into some of the unique challenges faced by other Protestant clergy who become interested in the Church.

JonMarc Grodi talks to Marc Lozano about his journey from atheism to Catholicism, and how his experience working for the NBA led him to develop Christ Centered Capital, a faith-based approach to investing money.

Raised Evangelical, Soren Johnson entered the Catholic Church after much prayer, study and discernment. His faith has only grown as he’s served as a teacher, communications professional and co-founder of Trinity House Community.

The son of a Louisiana sharecropper, Larry Oney grew up angry at the injustice he experienced because he was black. The kindness of a white family broke through, leading him to seek God’s love and peace as a Church deacon.

Fr. Stephen Hilgendorf shares his path from the Anglican priesthood to the Catholic priesthood through the Personal Ordinariate. JonMarc Grodi hosts.

Lisa Cooper talks to JonMarc Grodi about how she grew up in the Word of Faith movement, and what led her from the Prosperity Gospel to the Catholic Church.

Charlie Johnston grew up in a family with mixed religious faith. He talks to JonMarc Grodi about how his study of the inner workings of U.S. History helped him to see the necessity of the Catholic Church.

Fr. Michael Rennier shares his fascinating journey from Pentecostalism through Anglicanism to the Catholic priesthood. JonMarc Grodi hosts.

JonMarc Grodi talks to LoriAnn Mancini about how her journey from the New Age movement to the Catholic Church started when she began sending her child to a Catholic school.