By Diego López Marina
ACI Prensa Staff, Oct 22, 2024 / 16:15 pm
Belén Perales, a 60-year-old Spanish woman, lived for 35 years as an atheist, turning away from the Catholic faith in her teens after a series of traumatic experiences.
However, her life changed dramatically on a visit to the tomb of St. John Paul II in the Vatican, where, according to her, she had a profound revelation that brought her back home.
A life marked by pain and rebellion
Perales was born into a Catholic family, the eldest of four siblings, but from a young age she felt a baseless but deep sense of abandonment. “I always had a feeling that nobody loved me,” she confessed in an interview with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner.
Constant moving from one city to another due to her father’s work fueled her insecurities, creating a deep emotional wound. “I developed a kind of wound of [feeling] abandoned,” she recalled, and although moving around made her more adaptable, it also fueled her resentment.
Her faith began to falter in her teens after being abused during a stay at a boarding school. This episode marked a breaking point in her relationship with God and her mother. “I left school very angry at the world … that summer I stopped believing in God,” Perales recounted.
The Journey of Belén Perales: From Struggle to Redemption
Belén Perales’ story is one of tumultuous trajectory, marked by ups and downs, struggles, and moments of despair. It all began when she started to distance herself from the Church and the faith she had known since childhood.
For the next 35 years, Perales lived in confusion, searching for peace in failed relationships and professional success that always seemed out of reach. She faced deception and abuse in her marriages, with her first husband turning out to be a scammer who had never legally married her.
After a series of failed relationships and personal setbacks, Perales decided to take a leap into the digital world in 1996. She set up her own online business and found unexpected success, generating significant income through her entrepreneurial initiative.
Despite her professional achievements, Perales’ personal life continued to be tumultuous. She went through more failed relationships and marriages, each one bringing its own set of challenges and heartbreak.
Living with a person struggling with addiction and going through the pain of broken marriages, Perales found herself alone with her two daughters, facing a future filled with uncertainty.
During these dark years, Perales felt lost and hopeless, living far from the faith she once held dear. But little did she know that her story was about to take a turn towards redemption and renewal.
From Atheist to Believer: A Life-Changing Encounter with God
It was a hot summer day in Rome, and Maria Perales, a self-proclaimed atheist, found herself reluctantly inside the Vatican with her daughters. She had wanted to visit the Roman Colosseum, but her daughter Gabriela’s insistence led them to St. Peter’s Basilica instead.
As she snapped photos of her daughters in the grandeur of the Vatican, something unexpected happened. A feeling, not spiritual but physical, washed over her. In that moment, she knew with absolute certainty that God existed, and the realization hit her like a ton of bricks.
Tears streamed down her face uncontrollably as she stood before the tomb of St. John Paul II, feeling a deep sense of separation from the Church she had long rejected. The weight of her sins and the realization of her rejection of God weighed heavily on her soul.
Her daughters watched as she knelt on the pew, attempting to pray for the first time in 35 years. The Lord’s Prayer escaped her memory, a stark reminder of her years of disbelief and distance from faith.
In that moment, Maria Perales had a profound encounter with God that changed her life forever. The image of St. John Paul II’s tomb served as a powerful catalyst for her spiritual awakening, leading her on a journey of rediscovery and faith.
