(ZENIT News / Rome, 12.04.2025).- Marielis Delgado is a young woman born in Cuba under the iron-fisted Communist regime, into a family with no religious affiliation or practice.
In an interview with Miguel Angel Idrogo, a Catholic YouTuber who shares conversion stories, Marielis recounted that at home, she was never taught about God, Jesus, or anything related to faith, and even less so at school. However, she remembers that when she felt alone or sad, without knowing why, she would look up at the sky and experience the feeling that there was something beyond the visible realm watching over her.
She grew up the same way: without religious convictions, but with a sincere desire to be a good person. That desire led her to study medicine to help others and have a better life. However, when she graduated in 2019 and started working, the COVID pandemic struck the world, and she began to go through a very difficult time.
Added to this were the country’s problems, which worsened her mood. She was deeply saddened by the conditions in Cuba and decided to leave to seek better opportunities in the United States. She did so secretly, since the government prevents people from freely leaving the Island. Marielis says that crossing the border felt like leaving a prison and finally being free.
Her journey took her through several countries — Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Mexico — until she reached the United States. In Nicaragua, the difficulties began: the person who was supposed to meet her up didn’t show up, and she had to spend the night alone at the airport. Even so, she says she felt protected, without fear.
During the journey, she heard for the first time about «The Lord.» A man approached her and four other people to tell them how the Lord had transformed his life, leading him away from his sinful ways and back to the right path. Marielis thought that perhaps this was the Lord who had always been watching over her, and from then on, she began to thank Him for His protection.
Upon arriving in the United States, she was welcomed by a friend of her sister, but later lived with several Christian and Catholic families who took her in. With them, she learned more about the Bible and Christianity, something completely new to her. She was fascinated and began to study the Scriptures diligently.
Thanks to the support of those families, she returned to her medical studies to revalidate her degree and be able to practice. While doing so, a Christian friend who was also researching the first centuries of Christianity raised a question: “Isn’t it strange that there are so many Christian denominations if the Spirit of God is one, as the Bible says?” They both decided to seek the truth by reviewing the documents of the early Christians to discover how they lived and how they understood the faith. When a woman from their Protestant community warned them, «Be careful not to stray from the Bible,» they were surprised, because they thought that if the Bible is true, nothing true could contradict it.
They then discovered several things that shocked them: that even Peter said Paul’s writings were difficult to interpret; that the celebration of Mass in the early Christian communities closely resembled the current Catholic liturgy; and that for more than 500 years the belief in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist had been undisputed. Marielis wondered how it was possible that the Church founded by Jesus had been wrong for so long if He Himself was guiding it.
Meanwhile, at work, Marielis met a woman whose personality deeply impressed her. She said that the woman seemed to possess something she couldn’t quite define, but which she desired. Her humility, simplicity, and kindness were captivating, and upon discovering that she was Catholic — after initially questioning her — she understood that not all Catholics were like those she had known before or how they had been presented to her in the community she attended.
Then she began to investigate what the Church taught on topics that often generate conflict with Protestant communities: the Saints, the Sacraments, images, the role of Mary, among others. Finally, she decided to speak with the Protestant family she lived with to tell them that she was discovering things that led her to believe that the Catholic Church was the one founded by Jesus. They responded that they would pray that God would guide her again and preserve her from falling into perdition.
Meanwhile, her boyfriend — who had been her partner in the search for truth — said to her, “Mary, let’s visit the Catholic Church and see what we find there.” She remembers carrying a Bible under her arm as if it were a shield and being surprised that no one else was carrying one. She thought, “No one brings a Bible to church; that’s why they don’t know anything…” However, seeing the people’s reverence for Christ, she was impressed. She noticed how everyone knelt, and during Mass she realized that all the worship was directed toward God, which contradicted her idea of idolatry. In the middle of the service, she heard the priest say, “Blessed are those who are part of this sacrifice,” and she thought, “I want to be part of this sacrifice.” “That day my heart broke,” she says; “there is pride, and God does not work in a proud heart.”
After this, she shared her experience with the family who had taken her in. She says they were almost like parents to her, because of the love and care they had given her, but when she told them that, after learning more about the Catholic Church, she was convinced that it held the truth and that God was calling her, they replied that if that was her decision, she couldn’t continue living with them. So the next day — because it was already night — she left the house. She quickly found an apartment that she could easily rent at a very low price to start living there.
Since then, she has continued to deepen her faith. She began attending church on Thursdays and Sundays. She married her fiancé and affirms: «The Catholic Church has changed my life. I understood that my identity is not in my medical degree, nor in whether I am pretty or ugly, whether I am Cuban or American; my identity is in Christ. I got married and I am open to life. I know that holiness is possible. I want to live under the grace of the Lord if God has mercy and helps me.»
