Joan Schanilec, graduated from UND in 1976 from the College of Nursing and lives in Minto with her husband, Rod.
Memory:
The year was 1975. I was Lutheran…I had never set foot in a Catholic Church…I was completely shocked by the silence in the church before Mass and by the reverence of the young people who were kneeling and praying.
After much discussion and discernment, I made the decision to attend the "inquiry class" that summer at St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center. Father Lawrence Haas patiently answered my many questions about confession, purgatory, the Blessed Virgin Mary and all things Catholic.
In October of 1975, I said my Profession of Faith and joined the Catholic Church at St. Thomas Aquinas Newman Center… It was such a joyful day! Becoming a Catholic forever changed my life and became one of the greatest gifts in my life.
