Soul tugs: students journey to Catholicism
'I am a totally different person... Everything has changed... I was a little bitter, and now it melted away.'
Betsy Woodruff
Issue date: 4/16/09 Section: Focus
"I had been going to Mass for a couple months, and my boyfriend had the nerve to ask me, 'Would you consider...' and I said, 'I have considered, I made my decision.'"
For senior Garrett Chapel, the conversion process began with a summer course in marine biology taught by Anthony Swinehart, associate professor of biology. Chapel had several Catholic friends and knew Swinehart was Catholic as well, so he asked him some questions about the religion.
Swinehart answered Chapel's questions and told him about the Catholic inquiry classes.
"When we got back to school, I was thinking, I'm not going to be able to take the classes, I have too much going on," Chapel said. "He called and said, 'Hey, I enrolled you in the classes.'"
Chapel began attending the sessions taught by Helen Lasseter, assistant professor of English. Over Christmas break, he read more about the faith and prayed a lot about it.
During the spring semester of 2009, he began going to Mass instead of Protestant church services.
"I was just sitting in Mass one day and I got this feeling like, I want to become part of the Church -- it just came to me. I wanted to convert," he said. "Taking the classes and practicing the Catholic faith helped me worship God and Christ in a way that I felt was the truth. I'm not saying that's an absolute truth, but to me it just felt that way. It just felt the best way that I personally could worship and serve God."
Not everyone who converts makes their decision as quickly as Chapel or Schleue, though.
Freeh said many students attend his classes for several years before making up their minds about whether or not to convert. He knows one student who first expressed interest in Catholicism as a freshman but did not convert until his first year at law school.
Monica Way, a junior, planned on converting until a day before Easter.
"I realized I wasn't at peace about it, and it wasn't because of any specific thing I could tie down about the doctrine," she said. "I realized I needed to have some kind of peace before I was confirmed, and not expect it all to be settled in the sacrament of confirmation itself."
For senior Garrett Chapel, the conversion process began with a summer course in marine biology taught by Anthony Swinehart, associate professor of biology. Chapel had several Catholic friends and knew Swinehart was Catholic as well, so he asked him some questions about the religion.
Swinehart answered Chapel's questions and told him about the Catholic inquiry classes.
"When we got back to school, I was thinking, I'm not going to be able to take the classes, I have too much going on," Chapel said. "He called and said, 'Hey, I enrolled you in the classes.'"
Chapel began attending the sessions taught by Helen Lasseter, assistant professor of English. Over Christmas break, he read more about the faith and prayed a lot about it.
During the spring semester of 2009, he began going to Mass instead of Protestant church services.
"I was just sitting in Mass one day and I got this feeling like, I want to become part of the Church -- it just came to me. I wanted to convert," he said. "Taking the classes and practicing the Catholic faith helped me worship God and Christ in a way that I felt was the truth. I'm not saying that's an absolute truth, but to me it just felt that way. It just felt the best way that I personally could worship and serve God."
Not everyone who converts makes their decision as quickly as Chapel or Schleue, though.
Freeh said many students attend his classes for several years before making up their minds about whether or not to convert. He knows one student who first expressed interest in Catholicism as a freshman but did not convert until his first year at law school.
Monica Way, a junior, planned on converting until a day before Easter.
"I realized I wasn't at peace about it, and it wasn't because of any specific thing I could tie down about the doctrine," she said. "I realized I needed to have some kind of peace before I was confirmed, and not expect it all to be settled in the sacrament of confirmation itself."
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