New Catholic inspired by St. Augustine

Life events lead to baptism, a church home
 
 
By LORI BERGLUND
Special to Lumen Media

Thou hast formed us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee. — from The Confessions of St. Augustine of Hippo, 1,1.5

            Dennis Hogan knew he was looking for something. He just didn’t know what, or where to find it. His story of conversion shows that it’s not necessarily the events of life that shape us, but how we respond to those events.

A Florida native who has lived in Madrid for about three years, Hogan had often looked around for a church or spiritual home, but it was the September 2025 assassination of Charlie Kirk that sent him looking more earnestly.

“My impetus for seeking guidance, or spiritual guidance, was the murder of Charlie Kirk,” Hogan explained. “It’s not so much that I was a fan of his, or cared about him in any particular way, but what bothered me was that across social media there was this overflow of people celebrating his death and making videos of themselves dancing and singing and celebrating.

“It disturbed me, and I’ve seen disturbing things before. How casual it seemed that a young man was murdered and people were proud to celebrate. It shook me to a moral level.”
At Easter, Pope Leo XIV spoke of the same phenomena at the international level when he said that the world seemed to be “growing accustomed to violence” and even “indifferent to death.”

While the Holy Father was speaking of the deaths of thousands in wars around the world, Hogan had seen and felt it with the death of just one man, whom he had never even known. But the death of that one man, Charlie Kirk, sent him searching.

“There are a lot of churches in Madrid, and on a whim I walked into St. Malachy,” Hogan recalled.

He wasn’t necessarily expecting much, perhaps because he had tried so many faiths and traditions in the past.

“I was always disappointed by what felt like deeply unserious people, who maybe were lost themselves,” Hogan said. “While they were collected in a building, a structure, they weren’t necessarily circling around any kind of truth, or any kind of standard. They, themselves, did not have any grounding.”

He soon saw something different at St. Malachy, part of Ascension Catholic Parish in Boone County. It was his first experience with the Catholic faith.

“I just immediately felt like people knew what was going on — and people were taking seriously what they were doing,” Hogan said. “There was actual worship going on, and not like fake celebration of something, or celebration of themselves.”
From the Ascension Parish weekly newsletter - nine new Catholics are received into the church.He was experiencing baptized people experiencing the Holy Eucharistic in the shared sacrifice of the Mass. And he was experiencing people who quickly made him feel welcome.

            “Deacon (David) La Mar spotted me, asked who I was and informed me, ‘Hey, if you’re curious about learning more, OCIA is starting soon.”

            Hogan had dropped in to St. Malachy just in time for the first session of OCIA classes for those discerning the Catholic faith. He decided to check it out, and even started studying on his own outside of class.

            Father Tim Johnson, pastor of Ascension Parish, noted that nine adults took part in the classes this year. One individual discerned out, demonstrating that it is a process of free will, learning and choosing. The door is always open, but it’s up to the person to choose if, or when, to come inside.

            For Hogan, the only one in the class who had never been baptized, the time was right to find his faith home. The words of St. Augustine about that restless heart would ring true for Hogan.
St. Augustine of Hippo            “Last year, for the first time, I read the Bible from cover to cover,” he noted. “I used the Hallow app, which has been a great help, too.”

            With a degree in chemical engineering, and his work as an electrical engineer for the Iowa Utilities Commission, Hogan is accustomed to careful study. He likes to take a scientific approach to things and that background made him appreciate the long history of the Catholic Church.

            “Something that is comforting with the Catholic Church is that it has been around so long, and there have been people that have been asking and thinking about the same questions for years. In science, we have a saying of ‘being on the shoulders of giants’ because one discovery is possible when you learn from previous discoveries.”

            Learning from the giants, propelled him to study the church fathers. He is spending time reading the works of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Augustine of Hippo.

            “My confirmation name came from one of the first things I was reading to accompany the Bible, which was The Confessions of St. Augustine of Hippo,” Hogan said. “I’ve been reading that and learning more about his conversion story and his life experiences… I found a kinship with him, and so I chose him for my confirmation name.”

            Hogan was baptized, confirmed, and received the holy Eucharist for the first time at the Easter Vigil. It was the person who first welcomed him at St. Malachy, Deacon David La Mar, that served as his sponsor. For the first time, Hogan is able to share in the sacraments that were the focus of that quiet, dignified faith that first attracted him during that chance visit to St. Malachy last fall.

            It has been a long journey for Hogan. His wife of 15 years has a faith tradition of her own, but has been supportive throughout his discernment to become Catholic.

            “Her tradition is different from ours, but we still find common ground,” Hogan said. “We watched ‘The Chosen’ all the way through together. I think it’s been a very positive experience. I was always very secular, so faith and Scripture weren’t something we talked about. I think she sees how the faith is enriching me, and she can see the fruits of that in our marriage.”

Cover photo: Deacon David La Mar was the sponsor for Dennis Hogan as he was received into the church.

Lori Berglund is a freelance writer based in Dayton. She is a member of Holy Trinity Parish of Webster County.
            
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