Blogger and former Anglican priest David Palmer shares his conversion story.

I believe that John Henry Newman when asked why he became a Catholic, said something along the lines that becoming a Catholic wasn’t little thing that could just be explained between two courses of a meal. And indeed it isn’t. There are so many strands that come together. Sitting in a square in Spain and then in Italy and seeing people pouring out of the local church and realising that I wasn’t part of this Church. Seeing the Pope speaking on behalf of a Billion Christians… And not being part of that. Or recognising that the Catholic Church can trace its roots to Peter (and thus Jesus), rather than King Henry VIII. And so many other things. Recognising that Catholic Priests are recognised as priests throughout the world, Anglicans are not recognised outside of these islands. The realisation that S.Francis, Benedict et al were Catholic, not Anglican! I have found the fullness of the Faith within the Catholic Church within the Church Jesus founded and it is fantastic. I pray to God that in due course I will be a priest… But I would rather be a Catholic road sweeper than an Anglican Bishop. The pearl of great price is worth selling everything for. I am home and I am very happy!

Fr. Dwight Longenecker, ordained last month, reflects on the differences between now and then:

Now I am getting more used to saying Mass I am able to pray more within it. Does it feel different than it did when I was an Anglican? Most definitely! How does it feel different? This is more difficult to explain, but let me try. First, it feels different because it feels more universal. As an Anglican, ministering in England, I was very aware of the Englishness of it all. Ironically, because I valued things catholic, saying Mass as an Anglican actually emphasized (at least for me) the fact that I wasn’t Catholic. As a result, saying Mass as an Anglican (even though I did so in a ‘catholic’ way) actually felt very Anglican. Now it feels universal. At the altar I feel one with the whole church down the ages in a way I never did as an Anglican. As an Anglican I commemorated many of the saints from before the Reformation, now I feel one with them in a much deeper way. I also feel connected with Catholics all over the world in a way I never felt as an Anglican. The Mass I say at school or at St Mary’s is the same Mass being said at St Peter’s in Rome, the same Mass being said at the slum school we support in El Salvador, the same Mass being said in the ugly modern brick church we once attended in England.