r/CatholicConverts

I recently (last year) converted to “mainstream” more Protestant Christianity. My boyfriend and I are now leaning towards the Catholic Church (we’re not committed yet but learning and going to Mass most of the time on a Sunday, in between exploring other churches).

But I wondered if anyone knew of the Christadelphians or was one before they converted to Catholicism or Protestantism?

I’d really love to meet someone I can discuss Catholic beliefs with, who might have a better understanding of my past beliefs and experiences.

Any loving advice from anyone would be really appreciated though. 🤍

So, this must have been posted hundreds of times but what would be your book suggestions for someone new to the faith? I've become Catholic recently after decades of agnosticism and the amount of books and different angles to pursue makes it hard to decide. Where to start from?

I just know the basics (more from being Italian than from formal teaching and study).

I am considering talking to my priest to join OCIA. I am generally a very anxious person and I like to be prepared. I am unbaptized, but I attended a non-denominational church for 4 years and was almost baptized and confirmed before I started dating a Catholic and fell in love with the church. My hesitation about going to OCIA is that I feel very unprepared and like I hardly know anything. I know that OCIA is about learning more about the faith, but I’m not sure to what extent I should already know before beginning classes, I guess I’m just looking to see if anyone experienced something similar so I have more insight into whether I should go for it or not. Side note: I am not questioning whether I want to become Catholic or not, I am questioning whether I should join the church this year or wait until a later time.

I was born and raised Catholic. I used to be at church all the time, I participated in everything and had many roles there throughout my life. I reduced my participation when I was around 16 because of my ex-boyfriend. he was also from my church and I had serious issues with him..at the time I had to even go to the police because he was threatening me and I ended up leaving that church and everything all together. I was very sad at the time. church was a huge part of my life. all my friends were there and i didn’t feel supported by anyone. my ex became my friends’ friend and that really hurt me!

I’m currently 30, but I haven’t really practiced for several years. Recently I’ve started feeling a pull toward it again, and I’m trying to figure out where I actually belong.

My current boyfriend and I recently went to a Catholic mass together. He was baptized Catholic but wasn’t really raised practicing and has had more exposure to Protestant churches as an adult. Going back to Mass was surprisingly emotional for me. I cried, and it felt really meaningful to reconnect with God after being away for so long.

At the same time, I’m struggling..

There are things about Catholicism that I still feel very connected to. I believe in Mary and I’m comfortable with the idea of asking Mary and the saints to intercede for us. I’m drawn to the history and tradition of the Church, and there is something about Catholicism that still feels like “home” because of how I was raised I guess..

But culturally, I often enjoy Protestant churches. I like the contemporary worship music, a younger congregation, Bible studies, women’s groups, activities, community, and a less formal atmosphere.

The Catholic Mass we attended was beautiful, but it was very quiet, traditional, and mostly an older congregation. I would really love to find a faith community where I can make friends, eventually raise children, participate in groups, and actually feel involved rather than just attend a service once a week.

We also visited a non-denominational church that I enjoyed a lot more in terms of worship and community. But during the sermon, the pastor talked about Jesus having biological siblings and made a comment about Catholics because of the Catholic teaching about Mary’s perpetual virginity. That bothered me more than I expected. It made me realize that some of my Catholic beliefs might actually matter to me more than I thought.

Then there are the bigger disagreements.

For example, I’m pro-choice. Personally, I don’t think I would have an abortion unless my life was in danger. But I believe abortion should remain legal and accessible. I see it as an important women’s rights/public-health issue, and I don’t believe everyone in society should be required to live according to Catholic moral teaching. I understand that this is a significant disagreement with the Catholic Church, not just a minor difference of opinion.

I also currently live with my boyfriend and we aren’t married. We do want to get married soon, but we haven’t gotten there yet.

I have a very all-or-nothing personality, which makes this harder. My brain immediately goes to: “If I’m going to be Catholic, then I need to agree with everything the Church teaches and live perfectly according to it. If I don’t, then maybe I shouldn’t call myself Catholic at all.”

But I’m realizing that maybe faith and discernment don’t work that neatly.

I’m not trying to find a church that simply tells me everything I already believe. I genuinely want to figure out what I believe is true. At the same time, I don’t want to force myself to pretend that I agree with teachings that I currently don’t agree with just because I want to belong somewhere.

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have actually been through something similar.

Were you raised Catholic, left, and eventually came back? Did you seriously consider Protestantism before choosing Catholicism? Are you Catholic while still struggling with or disagreeing with some Church teachings? Did your beliefs gradually change after coming back, or are there things you still wrestle with? Did anyone choose Protestantism even though there were parts of Catholic theology they still loved? How did you separate “which type of church experience I enjoy” from “which theology I actually believe”?

And for Catholics: how do you handle the feeling that you have to be 100% aligned with everything before you’re “Catholic enough”? Is there room to come back, attend Mass, learn, pray, and wrestle with things without already having all the answers?

For Protestants/former Catholics: if you left Catholicism, I’d also genuinely like to hear what ultimately convinced you. Was it theology, Scripture, Church authority, your personal experience, or something else?

I’m not looking for people to attack Catholics, Protestants, pro-choice people, pro-life people, etc. I know these topics can get heated. I’m really just hoping to hear honest experiences from people who have had to work through these questions themselves.

Right now, “I’m discerning” is probably the most accurate description of where I am.

thank you very much!

Hello all, F here in her 30s looking to make new friends. Im from California so preferably from the same state to go out and hang out.

Hi guys, so recently I’ve been interested in joining the Catholic Church. I wasn’t raised catholic so I’m having a hard time knowing what to do. I’m a minor so I don’t know what to do to join ocia classes. I’ve looked at some churches websites and some of they are saying I need a sponsor, does the church provide one or do I need to find one on my own? Please tell me if theres anything I need to know about ocia for minors and anything about joining the Church. Thank you!

I've been on such a long journey toward the church. But formally in the Fall 2025 I started OCIA and attended every single Sunday class that takes place during the Sunday 10am mass anticipating I could hopefully be baptized and confirmed. But during Lent 2026 I learned I was not among the elect for baptism and my parish has a strict 2 year minimum requirement for attending classes, at that time my family experienced a loss of a close loved one we saw every single day and entered a long bereavement period. So after validating my marriage in the church and baptizing my 2 and 5 year old children I decided to step back from OCIA and prioritize attending mass together as a family in our grieving especially to get the little ones more integrated into the flow of mass and catechize them at home. After 7 months of faith formation and reading the entire the catechism, it was hard to step back but I felt my vocation of a mother and wife was taking precedent at that time.

I live in the South and my civilian parish is ENORMOUS (I am attending one in the Archdiocese of Raleigh). We are also a military family. When this was happening, I reached out to the catholic military chaplain on our post hoping he may understand some of the struggles I was beginning to face at the time but he insisted my husband just needed to "step up" during my 2 year catechesis 😭

Truly attending mass with my family is one of my favorite parts of my week, just to be in celebrating the sacrament and making a spiritual communion with my Lord is so peaceful no matter where I am or where I'm traveling (we've been traveling SO MUCH this summer to visit family and friends) it's the greatest thing about the faith, to have the whole church worshiping and and receiving the same scripture and message every week makes me feel so whole and so connected.

My enormous desire my baptism and to be obedient to Christ's command has not faltered.

I received an email from my OCIA director last week asking to confirm my spot in the upcoming year and I asked for the mandatory dates and if it were possible to have an adjusted schedule or possibly occasional meetings during weekdays to discuss my personal journey when my children are at school so to not destabilize my family as much (I am also in prenursing classes, and frequently work from home as well) but the response was to just have a meeting. That meeting took place today. The structure is quite rigid. A whole second year of mandatory 10am classes. These often keep me out of the home from about 9:30am to about 1pm on Sundays.

There was a time when I LOVED these classes and this GROWN UP time sitting and listening to theology and absorbing it. Until I realized what was happening in my home life. I have a huge role to fulfill in my vocation and last year I let it slip. My plate was so full with work, school, kids, helping friends, being a villager, and I got so very sick with an autoimmune condition before the tipping point when our friend passed during Lent 2026.

I recently had my oldest in the parish VBS this summer and we just signed up today for the child faith/family formation that takes place once a month on Wednesday evenings and I'm genuinely excited to go as a family to these instead of leaving them out as I have to do in OCIA for myself.

After this summer, there are days I wish it could all be over and I could practice peacefully, without the sign in sheet... go to mass whatever city I'm in that weekend, find a confessor that I can go to regularly (because I NEED IT), and live it.

Sometimes I think I'm pushing it... what does God think? Genuinely. Of the rules? The ridigity? Of me? I don't want to put my relationship with one parish above my relationship with the Lord, my family, or the Church as whole. And I wonder sometimes, if I'll find a priest or pastoral person of some kind that will have the time to speak with me and genuinely guide me spirtually... I've prayed for that. But right now it's just me and God, how it's been my whole life. 🤍

What was your OCIA experience? Was it a long 2 years of classes? Genuinely what did God reveal to you in your heart about the process? Are you like me trying to live as a Christian with an extraordinary "baptism of desire" while guiding your family towards the virtues? There's so much to juggle. Unsure if I should schedule a meeting with the priest or my psychiatrist. Stay tuned. 😅

I’m meeting with the Monsignor of my local diocese Thursday to discuss my joining the OCIA program. I’ve been attending mass regularly for the last couple months and have been reading and trying to learn a lot on my own. Does anyone have any tips for this first meeting or ways in which I can prepare? TIA!

I’m 19 now and was raised Pentecostal until I was about 11 when my parents decided to switch to non denominational. I never really had a relationship with god because you’re raised in church, you normally don’t until you find him on your own. At 18 I started going to my local Catholic Church because I had always been interested in learning about the Catholic Church and especially since my parents and most if not all of my family is against the idea and beliefs Catholic Church as a whole. I think that I started going to the church at first out of curiosity and stayed as an act of rebellion because I knew how my parents and family feel about it. I went continuously for about 2 months and even started OCIA. Then suddenly I realized that I didn’t feel directly called to the Catholic Church and with that realization came the realization that I had never felt called to god at all. It’s been about a year since then and I want to start my journey to Christ and the church. I still haven’t felt the calling specifically but I know god is real and I know the Catholic Church is the one true church, I just want to be able to believe whole heartedly if that makes sense. I re enrolled this year in my churches OCIA but I still can’t differentiate the feelings of how I was raised to feel about god and gods true voice. Any advice would be great.

After years of being atheist, I’ve finally felt like I believe in god and I feel faith. I grew up around a family that wasn’t religious what so ever, I feel like I need to find myself. How can I start when converting to Catholicism? Is there an easy way? I’d like to attend a church near me but I have terrible social anxiety and it’d be much worse because I’d have to go alone. I know at some point in time, I’ll have to go and I need to be baptized, but is there an easy way for me to start before I begin attending church?