Convert eager to see pontiff he once opposed

In the midst of his excitement over seeing Pope Benedict XVI at Yankee Stadium on April 20, Ashton Wilkins has been feeling a little guilty.

Not many years ago, "I was theologically opposed to [him]," the 28-year-old computer programmer explained. "You kind of feel unworthy" to go on the trip.

A native of Salem, Mr. Wilkins was raised in the Assemblies of God Church, a fundamentalist Protestant denomination. He remembered being "default-biased" against Catholicism and particularly against the Pope.

Change of heart

Then Mr. Wilkins went away to college at the University of Rochester. Suddenly exposed to students of many religious faiths, he became interested in theology and the history of religion.

He read about the early Church fathers and the sacraments Catholics believe in, and began to think, "Protestantism doesn't have everything."

The collegian still struggled with Catholic belief in Mary, and the Church's use of statues and icons, something he'd grown up adamantly opposed to. But the more he read about what he called "the unity of Rome," the more he thought, "There's something to this."

Pot pourri

First, he remembered with a laugh, "I tried every alternative" to Catholicism.

"I attended the Anglican church for a while," he recalled. "I looked at the Assyrian Church of the East."

The latter, mostly attended by Iraqi immigrants, had its closest church in Connecticut. Meeting Mr. Wilkins, the priest at that church thought it absurd for the young man to uproot his life and move to another state -- particularly because his developing beliefs seemed to be leading him in another direction.

"Why don't you just become Catholic?" the priest asked.

Into Church

Mr. Wilkins decided he had "exhausted his options" and began searching online for Catholics to connect with. One man suggested he contact a Franciscan monastery downstate; through a friend of those friars, Mr. Wilkins eventually met Rev. John Medwid, pastor of St. Anthony's parish in Schenectady.

"Why don't you join our RCIA class? It starts this week," Father Medwid advised.

Ironically, Mr. Wilkins' wife, Maureen, had been raised Catholic but had fallen away from the faith. He convinced her to attend the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults classes with him.

Right after the couple's July 2006 wedding, Mr. Wilkins decided to convert to Catholicism.

In a short time, St. Anthony's got two new parishioners: Not only did Mrs. Wilkins come back to the Church, but she was also her husband's Confirmation sponsor when he received the Sacraments at last year's Easter Vigil Mass.

Ticket-winners

Still a new Catholic, Mr. Wilkins told The Evangelist he was full of zeal when he heard about the newspaper's drawing for tickets to see the Pope during his upcoming visit to the U.S.

"I did a lot of praying I would win," he remarked. When the couple received a letter granting their wish, he said, "We were jumping up and down! I thought, 'Maybe God wanted to give this gift to a new convert.'"

Mr. Wilkins is looking forward to being among fellow Catholics from across the U.S. at the Yankee Stadium liturgy. For someone who remembered not knowing what a rosary was a few years ago, he said, "It's quite a privilege."

(During his two years of "researching" Catholicism, Mr. Wilkins took a job as a security guard in the quietest location he could find, so that he would have plenty of time to read up on the faith. Mr. Wilkins works for the Healthcare Association of New York State; Mrs. Wilkins is an employee of the state Department of Motor Vehicles. The couple live in Watervliet.)

(03/27/08) [[In-content Ad]]