Patrick Conley, host of the “Practicing Catholic” radio show, remembered a time growing up in Chicago when his dad would take him to Cubs games. When they got in range of Wrigley Field, his dad would turn on WGN Radio.
“We would listen to the Chicago radio stations and I was just kind of intrigued and enthralled, but I never saw myself in it,” Conley said in the “Practicing Catholic” radio program set to debut at 9 p.m. Aug. 15 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM. “It’s one of these things that it’s been surprising to see.”
Being host of “Practicing Catholic,” Conley said, has been an adventure that has taken him to places he never would’ve guessed he’d go.
“A loving Heavenly Father is going to give us life and life in abundance,” Conley said.
He also said that sometimes that love doesn’t feel good. Conley wasn’t always Catholic. In college, he described himself as an Evangelical Protestant. While studying the Christian faith, he had questions and concerns about Catholicism. He was suspicious of things like Mary, purgatory and the role of the pope.
“I felt they (Catholics) were making the mistake of putting other things in front of Jesus and that was my impression,” Conley said.
A Catholic friend later helped Conley untangle the misunderstandings surrounding Catholicism. During that time, Conley was in a Goodwill store and noticed a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church on the shelf for $2.
“I was trying to develop a kind of a theological library at that point and I thought, ‘This seems like a good thing I should have on my shelf.’ So I bought one and I remember sitting in the room that I called my library at home at the time and I opened it up and I kind of took a deep breath thinking, ‘Now I’ve got to get ready for all this kind of heresy and misguided thinking’ and all that sort of stuff,” Conley said.
Conley said that the more he read, the more he agreed with what the Catechism said, and the Catechism detailed the faith eloquently.
“They’ve been thinking about this for 2,000 years, right?” Conley said.
Conley is currently in the discernment process of becoming a permanent deacon with one year left in his formation in his home diocese of La Crosse, Wisconsin.
“I definitely would take people’s prayers for that,” Conley said. “That’s been an adventure.”
To hear the full interview with radio show technical producer Paul Sadek, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which repeats at 1 p.m. Aug. 16 and 2 p.m. Aug. 17.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest show also includes an introduction of the new hosts of “Practicing Catholic,” Leah Heselton, the operations coordinator for the Office of Communication at the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Father Tom Margevicius, director of worship for the archdiocese. Also, former producers of the “Practicing Catholic” show, Cami Berthiaume, Kayla Mayer and Susanna Parent, share what it was like working with host Patrick Conley.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
