North Branch — If you bump into Paula Kaniut at the grocery store or elsewhere, the conversation will almost certainly turn to her love of the Catholic faith. Ever since becoming a member of the Church last Easter, she can’t keep herself from talking about it.

Kaniut lived in Arizona and was a member of the Mormon church for 24 years until a difficult divorce led her in a different direction. Several years later, she met her husband, Paul, and the couple moved to his native Michigan.

Kaniut discovered the beauty of the Catholic Church while attending Paul’s uncle’s funeral at St. Andrew Parish in Rochester in 2014.

“My husband and I looked at each other and said, ‘Wow, now this is a funeral,’” Kaniut said. “It sparked my interest.”

A few months later, her father-in-law passed away. She found herself even more drawn to the faith at her second Catholic funeral, which was held at SS. Peter and Paul Parish in North Branch, where Fr. Richard Treml was the presider.

“My father-in-law lived with us. Fr. Rich (Treml) reached out to me because he saw me crying,” Kaniut recalled. “He said he could see I must have known my father-in-law well. I was so moved by his kindness, and by the tradition and ceremony of the funeral Mass, that after that I said, ‘I’m joining. I want this.’”

At work, Kaniut bombarded her friend Carol Cronce — a Catholic — with questions about the faith.

“She would ask about the different holy days and what they meant, and anything that was on her mind,” Cronce said.

Kaniut enrolled in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults at the parish that fall. After the first class, she asked Cronce to be her sponsor.

“Paula was on fire. She just absorbed everything, and you couldn’t give her enough books or DVDs,” said Vicky Rogers, RCIA director at SS. Peter and Paul, who led Kaniut and 10 others through their formation.

“She wanted to learn as much as she could.”

Coming from a Mormon background, Kaniut had to start with the basics.

“It was so different because I went from being discouraged from asking questions or told that I didn’t need to know, to being told everything I wanted to know,” Kaniut said.

As a cradle Catholic, Cronce enjoyed learning along with her friend.

“When I was growing up, we went to church or catechism class and went home,” Cronce said. “We never went further than that, so it helped me to go through the classes, too.”

At the Easter Vigil on March 26, 2016, Kaniut was received into the Catholic Church.

“I was overwhelmed and I felt so thankful that all I could do was smile,” Kaniut said. “Then when it was time for Communion, all I could do was cry because of the realization of what I was about to receive — the body and blood of Christ. I was so honored to be surrounded by friends and family who had gotten me to this point.”

Kanuit also credits Fr. Treml — who helped see her through the annulment process in preparation for the sacraments — and associate pastor Fr. Mark Prill — who leads a Bible study she attends on Thursday evenings — with helping her along in her faith journey.

“Fr. Rich and Fr. Mark are both so special in their own way,” Kaniut said. “They’re down-to-earth and really genuine people. We laugh together all the time.”

One year later, Kaniut feels she still has much to learn. This Easter, she is studying to understand how everything she has learned fits together.

“I started by learning the ‘what,’ and now I’m learning the ‘why,’” Kaniut said.

The smile Kaniut displayed at last year’s Easter Vigil hasn’t gone away, and people notice. Thanks to that smile and positivity, Fr. Treml offered her a job working in the parish office — something for which she had prayed.

“I pray, and God listens. It’s amazing,” Kaniut said. “All of this is more than I ever bargained for. I know I’ll still have trials, but I handle them differently. Fr. Rich says to let it go and give it to God, and that makes all the difference.”

Kaniut says of both her parish and the Catholic Church, “This is my home and I could never leave it.  These are my people.”