Easter Vigil: One catechumen in London on his journey of faith towards Catholicism

(Vatican Radio) 712 adults are set to become new members of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Westminster in London during the Easter Vigil. They include 311 catechumens who will be baptized and 401 candidates already baptized who will be received into full communion. They hail from all walks of life and each has their own personal journey of faith towards Catholicism.

Among the catechumens is 47 year old Rafael, a doctor in London who was born into a Muslim family. He spoke to Susy Hodges about what prompted him to take this life-transforming step.

Listen to the full interview with Rafael:

Ask what prompted him to become a Catholic, Rafael says there was “no single incident,” “no Pauline conversion” like St. Paul on the road towards Damascus. Instead, he said it was “an accumulation of a feeling within me that it was the right thing to do… a growing sense that I was being called towards accepting the faith.”

Rafael described himself as “very irreligious” when younger but said he had exposure to the Catholic faith through having lived in Ireland and having attended a Catholic high school. When asked about his own religious background, Rafael said both his father and mother are practicing Muslims and that was the faith he was born into but he never felt called to follow it.

He spoke of his sense of “peace” and “contentment” ahead of his baptism at the Easter Vigil, saying he is convinced that Catholicism is a faith that really has “chosen” him. “It’s not an intellectual or a rational choice, it’s just a very deep calling within me.”