I converted to Catholicism from being a Baptist about 6 years ago. I have a friend who was a Catholic for 60 years, and four years ago decided to leave the Church. I am worried about her eternal destination, though I understand that if she left in ignorance, she still has a chance to spend eternity in heaven. I have two questions:
Can you offer any resources I can use to help draw her back?
Is there a patron saint for fallen-away Catholics?
To my knowledge, there is not an official patron saint to pray to for the conversion of fallen-away Catholics, but a good candidate at some future date may well be Blessed Bartholomew Longo. Bartholomew was raised in a devoutly Catholic family, fell away from the faith during his years at college, and finally, much to the despair of his family, he became a Satanist priest. After much prayer by his family, a Dominican friar was able to help him repent and come back to the Church. Bartholomew eventually became a Dominican tertiary, a promoter of the rosary (he founded the Daughters of the Rosary of Pompeii), and is mentioned several times in John Paul II’s recent apostolic letter on the rosary, Rosarium Virginis Mariae (Latin, “Rosary of the Virgin Mary”).
DISCLAIMER: Catholic Answers has turned over the archive to Catholic-Questions.org and no longer owns, manages, or moderates the forums. For additional apologetics resources please visit www.catholic.com.
