Editor’s note: James and Heather Wilgenbusch, parents of Anna Wilgenbusch, a reporter with The Catholic Spirit, aided the writer in his journey to the Catholic Church.
I became Catholic because I am a seeker of truth. God planted wonderful people along my journey in my darkest hour to show me the path of light, leading me toward him.
I was raised in China, where we did not practice any religion in our family. In a big city with over 16 million people, there was very little Catholic influence present, and I did not encounter Christianity until I was 25 years old. I have always been taught that nothing is valid until proven to be true. In other words, skepticism was my religion. This worldview was the principle that guided me in my studies and sparked my keen interest in science, but it also deterred me from seeking God for a long time.
After I finished college at the University of Richmond, I took a few gap years and started working as a lab technician before I decided to apply to graduate school. I got an offer at the University of Minnesota and decided to quit my job to visit my parents back home before coming back to Minnesota. Then COVID-19 broke out and I was faced with a difficult choice: Either remain in the U.S. with no job and no place to stay or go home and risk not being able to return for another year for school. I was very depressed and anxious and felt that my life had hit rock bottom. Little did I know that the Almighty had his plan for me, even though I was not one of his followers yet.
My undergrad professor learned of my situation and decided to open his home to me for as long as I needed. Living with his family, who are all Christians, I started to learn and read about Christianity and our Lord Jesus Christ. Later, when he learned that I was going to the University of Minnesota for grad school, he helped connect me with a family in St. Paul, who ended up being my sponsors to the Catholic Church — and now will be the godparents to my child.
I arrived in St. Paul on a Saturday afternoon and the family kindly hosted me before I moved into my apartment. They also invited me to Mass with them the next day. I replied: “Sure! What’s Mass?”
During grad school, my interest and desire to seek the Lord continued to grow exponentially. The more I learned about God, the more I realized that science and religion are not in conflict. As a matter of fact, many famous scientists are also Catholics, such as Galileo Galilei and Louis Pasteur. I came to realize that the analytical method and inquisitive mindset (as my younger self would call it, being skeptical) fostered by science are powerful tools to aid one in understanding and searching for truth. One can say that those are wonderful gifts that our Lord has bestowed upon us, to be able to search for him.
After OCIA, converting to the Catholic Church became the reasonable and desirable option for me. I wanted to keep growing in my knowledge in faith and my relationship with God. Looking back now, I feel so blessed and grateful for God to put those people in my life to guide me to him. Even when I was skeptical of his existence, God had his way of leading me to the truth and happiness.
Wen, 29, is a pharmacy student living and working in St. Paul. He attends St. Mark parish in St. Paul with his wife, Lauren. They married last year at St. Mark and are expecting their first child.
