Becky Huebner Reflects on Her Journey to the Catholic Church

When Becky Huebner was received into the Catholic Church at our Easter Vigil Mass two years ago, it was like arriving home after a very long journey. For over a decade, Becky had been searching for a faith that felt complete and wholly fulfilling. After reading countless books, being touched by the exceptional beauty of a shrine, witnessing two of her four children join the Catholic Church, and exploring Rome during a visit for her son’s ordination to the diaconate, Becky knew this much was true — the Lord was calling her to make a home right here in His Church on earth.

A lifelong Protestant to the age of 59, Becky and with her husband, Paul started in the Lutheran church and later began attending Evangelical churches. There, the Huebners found a love of community and the Word that appealed to them. However, Becky often found herself thinking that something was missing.

“Over time, it began to feel like a square peg in a round hole,” she says. “There were definitely some good things there, but it felt like an incomplete picture.”

An avid reader, Becky one day picked up a book by Peggy Noonan entitled John Paul the Great: Remembering a Spiritual Father. After reading it, Becky began to look at the Catholic Church with new eyes. “Maybe,” she thought, “there is something here after all.”

Around the same time, Becky’s son, Christian, was also doing a lot of soul-searching, with his faith journey running almost parallel to his mother’s. One day, the two stopped to visit the Holy Family Shrine along I-80 in Gretna. While taking in the incredible views of the Nebraska plains and reading the plaques in the shrine, Becky felt something stirring — the first “nugget” of a call to the Church forming in her subconscious.

Several years later, when Christian joined the Church, Becky and her husband, Paul, attended RCIA classes at St. Peter and continued to learn more about the faith. Not long after, their daughter Kate decided to join the Church, as well. Again, Becky and Paul participated in the RCIA program here. Ever so slowly, Becky — through her reading and growing relationships with Catholics — was drawing closer to the Church.

“In 2018, Paul and I went to Rome for Christian’s diaconate ordination, and that was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Becky says. “Christian

had invited friends from many walks of life. This little group of us gathered and spent a week together for his diaconate. That week just changed my life. To sit in Mass and have a common language even though we didn’t know the language and to have people who bring an amazing thread to this story share all of this together — I was dumbfounded. Suddenly, I had to be a part of this thing called the Church. That is where the good, true and beautiful were revealed to me.”

Returning from Rome, Becky once again embarked on the RCIA journey here at St. Peter. And as the saying goes, the third time is the charm — at the end of this RCIA session, Becky was received into the Church during the 2019 Easter Vigil.

Having come to the Catholic faith later in life, and with the inspiration of the conversions of two of her children, Becky chose a fitting patron saint for her Confirmation.

“I took Helena as my Confirmation saint because I got to be in her church in Rome where her relics of the cross are,” she says. “Also, her son was Constantine, who was a convert, and he was involved in her conversion. She didn’t convert until late in life but she did something impactful even late in the game, so she’s my inspiration.”

Reflecting on the many ways that life has changed since she came into the Church, Becky is thankful for the sense of wholeness she has found in this new faith.

“I feel like the world makes sense,” she says. “The convergence of intellect and faith shows that it doesn’t have to be an ‘either/or’ — it’s all part of the whole. I’m so excited to live in this world as a person of faith because the context is there now. The sacraments help point me and bring me to Him, and it gives my life new meaning, purpose, and joy.”

Since becoming Catholic, Becky has jumped feet first into parish life here at St. Peter! She credits the warm welcome from fellow parishioners with helping her get involved. Thanks to an invitation from Katherine Norman, Becky began volunteering at the parish preschool. Adoration coordinator Katy Dornbos got her set up with a Holy Hour. Becky also attends a women’s Bible study and helps out with RCIA when needed. She is thankful to Carol Wathen, her sponsor, for inviting her to Bible Study and many other ministries and events at the parish. She is grateful for the ways that God has opened doors for her through these key people inviting her into the life of the Church.

While the journey was a long and often winding one, Becky sees blessings in it all. She has immeasurable gratitude for all the people, places, and experiences that have led her to the Church.

“Three times through RCIA, 15 years of study and people, and finally it was the Spirit,” Becky says. “And it’s been one of the great gifts of my life.”

Becky Huebner

Becky Huebner and her husband, Paul, with their son, Christian, on the occasion of his ordination to the diaconate in St. Peter’s Basilica.

Becky Huebner (front, center) with her husband, Paul, their four children, children-in-law and grandchildren, on the occasion of son Christian’s ordination to the priesthood