Kevin Lara (left) with his father-in-law, Felino, at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Basilica in Washington, D.C. / Credit: Photo courtesy of Kevin Lara Caracas, Venezuela, Aug 13, 2025 / 07:00 am (CNA). Kevin Lara arrived in the United States in 2010, when he was just 17 years old. Born in Caracas but raised on Margarita Island, he is one of the millions of Venezuelans who have left their country in search of a better future.Last week, he shared news on X that immediately went viral: After 16 years as a Protestant, he and his wife decided to return to the Catholic Church.After 16 years as a Protestant, me and my wife are returning to the Catholic Church.I love my Protestant brothers and sisters. And I have learned so much from them. It has been a long and painful process. But I’m coming home.Please pray for my family. Feel free to reach out— Kevin Lara 🇻🇦🇻🇪🇺🇸 (@KvnLara) August 5, 2025 “I love my Protestant brothers and sisters. And I have learned so much from them. It has been a long and painful process. But I’m coming home,” the 32-year-old Venezuelan wrote in his post, which already has more than 260,000 views and more than 10,000 likes.In an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, Lara shared part of that journey, which caused him to shed tears and tested his faith, but it ultimately led him to discover the beauty of Catholicism.Almost a Protestant pastorLara’s parents, who were not very devout, had him baptized Catholic. He made his first Communion, but he says he has few lasting memories of that moment. His childhood and youth were spent amid a cultural Catholicism, without any firm convictions about the faith.One of his cousins arrived from the United States and introduced him to Protestant thought. “There, at least intellectually, I embraced Christianity and the truth of the Gospel, that Christ had risen,” he commented. Two years later, he would leave Venezuela to move to Florida.It was then that he began to become more seriously involved with the Reformed Baptists, becoming over time a leader in his community. Eventually, he decided to enter the Baptist seminary to become a pastor, but despite four years of study, he never ended up taking that step.During this time, he met Patricia, the woman he would marry after leaving the seminary and with whom he now has three daughters.“There was always something inside me that held me back, that told me there was something I was still missing, that I wasn’t fully convinced. Maybe I didn’t say that intellectually, but subconsciously,” he explained.Lara said it was during his time as a seminarian that his perspective on Catholicism began to change. The young Venezuelan went from the kind of intense aversion Protestants often have for the Church of Rome and the Holy Father to having “a slightly more ecumenical perspective,” thanks to a professor to whom he said he owes much.A fascination and appreciation for the Catholic liturgy was awakened in him, which he said was crucial in his long conversion process. In no Protestant community did he find a liturgical reverence that filled his heart.However, the cornerstone of his conversion was the real presence of the Lord in the Eucharist: “I thought we Protestants had it. However, no one else around me believed in that. It was just me,” he said.Catholic heroes seem to ‘shine brighter’Lara’s restlessness led him to encounter the Church Fathers. He studied St. Ignatius of Antioch and St. Irenaeus. “The rest is history,” he declared. This made him understand that “the tradition of the Catholic Church has been consistent from the beginning. It has always been the same.”“It is we evangelicals who changed. It became extremely clear to me that not only was I not in continuity with their faith [Ignatius’ and Irenaeus’] but that the Catholic Church is in fact in complete continuity with them,” he added.His conversion was not easy. Lara explained that his pride initially prevented him from admitting he was wrong. In addition, he said that decisions of this kind involve “a change of identity,” letting go of all the convictions nurtured for years.“That’s a difficult change to make because it’s an epistemic change. It’s a very profound change of mindset. In other words, the foundation of what I believe is in ruins,” he related.“It’s scary. It was painful and difficult because of the anxiety and fear of what might happen. How will they react? I’ve been a Protestant for 16 years, and all my friends are Reformed, all my connections. If I change now, we have to leave all that behind. Are they going to stop loving me, are they going to stop talking to me?” the young Venezuelan wondered, visibly moved.Things at home were no less complicated. Patricia was also a Protestant, but Lara assiduously prayed to the Lord: “If you want me to become Catholic, make my wife accept it too.” In the end, God worked and gave Patricia “the willingness to learn,” and she, too, returned to Catholicism. The couple now resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.Lara still remembers the first time he went to Mass after so many years. Listening to the Gospel passage about the miraculous catch of fish, he identified with St. Peter, who had been fishing all night without catching anything. “That’s me,” he thought. “I’m the one arguing with the Lord. I’ve been researching and working for so many years, with so much effort, and the Lord said to me: ‘Yes, but trust me.’”The journey he’s taken has confirmed for him that the Catholic Church is the one founded by Jesus. In another post on X, Lara remarked that “something in the lives of the heroes of the Catholic faith seemed to shine more brightly than in the lives of the heroes of my own tradition, the people I admired.” The witness of the saints has sustained him in this process.Well, since my post blew up in a way that I didn't foresee, I decided to share a little bit more of my journey. In the hopes that it will help others some:When considering becoming Catholic, one of the things that impacted me the most was the lives of the Saints in the Catholic…— Kevin Lara 🇻🇦🇻🇪🇺🇸 (@KvnLara) August 7, 2025 “Considering the lives of so many people who have shaped Protestantism, both contemporarily and historically, I couldn’t help but feel that many of my heroes fell short. Especially compared to the lives of so many Catholic saints. I can’t put it into words, but something about them simply said ‘Christ,’” he explained.Befriending ProtestantsLara believes that much of the dialogue between Catholics and Protestants, especially online, is toxic. The young Venezuelan laments the pride on both sides and encourages Catholics to be patient and become friends with Protestants, because conversion “is a change that isn’t easy; it takes a lot of time and persistence.”“Build relationships, show the love of Christ, and perhaps share with them. I think Protestants love God and Christ. They love the holy Scriptures, and we can learn from them and even imitate much from their lives,” he commented.“The Catholic faith has the fullness of the beauty and loveliness of Christ and his Church. So, there is in fact still something to share, and I think it’s good that we share it. I don’t think we have to hide that. It’s just that we have to do it with a spirit of meekness, as Christ would, rather than a spirit of self-righteousness and superiority,” he added.This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.