Grandpa To Become Catholic

Grandpa used to say that he wouldn’t become a Catholic if he was on his death bed. In fact, when my mom and Ed were having their second wedding ceremony in the Catholic Church just before Ed passed away, he would tease my Grandpa and say that the ceremony was really for him to become Catholic. At the time, my grandfather would stop right in his tracks at the thought.

I wouldn’t exactly say that it was my Grandma’s mission in life to make Grandpa a Catholic, but sometimes it sure feels like it. Grandpa refers to Grandma as a “recruiting officer” for the Catholic Church (referencing their Marine backgrounds).

With a single phone call this afternoon, I guess hell has frozen over. Grandma informed me that Grandpa decided, on his own at the young age of 90, that he wants to be baptized a Catholic on Tuesday evening. I know Grandma is tickled pink at the thought, but my mom and I are wondering if it has anything to do with my grandfather’s mental state on the thought of being 90. He talks about how weird it is to know that he will be gone soon and how he’s tired. So we’ll see how it goes, but I do hope it was a decision that my grandfather made on his own.