Detroit — As a Catholic evangelist, Richard Lane spends a lot of his time on the streets.

From the corners of some of the busiest intersections to the boulevards of blighted inner-city neighborhoods, Lane preaches God’s word to those who may have veered off the path God has set for them.

From July 26-28, Lane spoke at St. Cecelia Church, part of St. Charles Lwanga Parish in Detroit, about the need for Catholics in urban Detroit to revitalize their faith and spark the evangelizing nature of the Church.

“We need to talk about our ‘Abba,’ our ‘Daddy,’” Lane told those gathered on the first day of his talks July 26. “We as Catholics need to get back on the course our Father has set before us. Many of us have fallen off course. We need to understand the gift he has given us, the gift of his Church. If the world’s 1.8 billion Catholics of the world would just wake up, we could change the world.”

Lane said it’s time for Catholics to take their message outside their churches and into the streets, where they can be “billboards for Christ.” This includes admitting where people have fallen short and challenging norms.

“We have grown complacent, we have gotten full of ourselves in God’s house,” Lane said. “For years, Catholics have been putting on a false face of religiosity. Sometimes, hearing the Gospel and what is asked hurts; sometimes it cuts us.”

The event, described as a “revival,” featured upbeat music and dancing, as Lane called upon the crowd to get up and praise the Lord and give thanks for the Church he established more than 2,000 years ago.

Lane recounted the story of Jesus at the well with the Samaritan woman, and how Jesus is thirsty for souls, even those who “speak, look and even smell different than you.”

“God wants us to give us life-giving water. He knows you; he knows what you are all about,” Lane said. “He’s thirsty for your soul, and for the souls of the people out on Livernois Avenue, the



people on Grand River, the people on the southwest side of Detroit.”

Lane recalled Pope Paul VI’s message to “go out and spread light into the darkness” and how it’s up to the laity to spread the word of Jesus and the truth about the Church.

“I’m a fool for Jesus,” Lane said. “Only my Lord and Savior can judge me. We have to do what he wants us to do, to give glory to God. Jesus gives the permission to preach. We are not called to judge, but to preach.”

During the event, many walked up to Lane, asking to be healed or recalling the struggles they face. Lane called upon the congregation to pray of those facing a struggle with evil, restoring confidence in those calling to be healed, reminding them Jesus conquered sin and Satan long ago.

“Some of the people who came here are suffering,” Lane said. “Some from a disease, some who need to be healed from personal struggles they are facing. The devil comes in different shapes, sizes and forms. People are coming her looking for a blessing, and that’s faith. As Catholics, we are called upon to show our wounds.”

Lane, a black, Catholic lay evangelist, takes his message of revitalizing the faith to major cities across the country and has been featured in national Catholic media such as Ave Maria Radio, Catholic Answers Live and EWTN.

Born in Detroit, Lane experienced a conversion to Catholicism in 2003, and began ministering as a street evangelist in 2005. He since has been invited to speak at conferences, revivals and parish missions across the country, and even has preached in several non-Catholic churches.

“We need to bring the fire of our Holy Church to the true witness of the truth — that this is Jesus’ Church,” Lane said. “This is the time for restoration. I love Detroit; it is the city that gave birth to me. It was devastated by the 1978 riots, and we’re still recovering from that. But we have to go where we are needed. Jesus needs us to be on Mack Avenue, he needs us on Livernois Avenue, he’s needed on Grand Boulevard.”