Laurent, soon to be baptized, discovered God through fatherhood

“I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” These are the words that thousands of catechumens around the world are preparing to hear on Easter night when they are baptized. Throughout Lent, Aleteia is sharing with you the stories of some of these men and women, who are happy to become children of God. Read all of the testimonies here.

“I’m a Cartesian person. For me, ‘1+1 = 2’ and that's how life works.” Well, that’s how it worked, rather, for Laurent, a 30-year-old manager at Orange in charge of fiber deployment. Now, he’s preparing to be baptized in the diocese of Mende, in Lozère, on April 19, along with seven other catechumens. While he is still a Cartesian, a new unknown has been added to his mathematical formula. “‘1+1 can make 3,’ he acknowledges with a smile.

God has made his way into Laurent's heart with the arrival of his son, Louis, 2, whom he had with his partner, with whom he has been in a civil partnership for 16 years. “The birth of a child changes many things,” he admits.

Before my son was born, I had little or no faith; it was something that repelled me. But my life changed completely when Louis was born. Suddenly I found myself with responsibilities other than work! We now have a soul to look after, the responsibility of watching over Louis, of making him grow in every sense of the word.

The birth of his son triggered many questions in Laurent's mind about the meaning of life, death and, above all, the values he wanted to instill in his son. “My father is Protestant, my mother Catholic, which is why I was not baptized as a child. My parents wanted to leave the choice up to me, to give me freedom,” the young father continues.

By mutual agreement with his partner, who was baptized as a child but is not a practicing Christian, he decided to request baptism for Louis... but also for himself. “I naturally turned to the Catholic Church, as it was the religion that attracted me the most,” he says.

“Wanting to request baptism for our son also set me in motion, pushed me to my limits, my questions, and I felt deep down inside the need to give him roots, and it was these roots that I wanted to nourish me and my child.”

When he began his two-year period of catechumenate in 2023, Laurent readily admits it seemed like a long time. “But actually not at all, these two years have allowed me to gradually integrate things, at my own pace, to progress. Of course, the road ahead is still long, but a new life is beginning.”

“We met with the parish team and the catechumens once a month for two hours to share our thoughts on various themes of the Christian life, where the exchange is free and always very enriching,” he continues.

“Being a complete neophyte, I was pleasantly surprised by the welcome and generosity of the people present to accompany us on this journey. They always listened attentively, without judging. This approach allowed me to discover and provide answers to my questions about faith.”

Above all, he discovered a religion of freedom. “What I liked during my preparation was the freedom,” continues Laurent. “I discovered a church that was absolutely not austere or withdrawn, but open to the world. Whether priests, deacons, companions or faithful, I met extremely open, bright and happy people. Our exchanges were all very free, without taboos.” 

“I was drawn to the freedom offered by the Catholic religion,” Laurent says, “the freedom to which Christ calls us!” A freedom that he fully intends to continue to exercise after his baptism. “Many people are hesitant to call, drop by, or ask for information. It only takes an hour at most. That hour spent costs nothing but can bring so much!”