A story of faith that changed everything
By Juliana
I grew up in a Protestant family, but Our Lady was always close to my heart. My husband Marcus grew up Catholic, though faith was never truly at the center of our lives. For years, we drifted. Not away from each other, but away from God.
When I entered my late thirties, a quiet longing to become a mother took hold of me. We tried for nearly three years. Each month that passed brought a new wave of disappointment.
Then came an appointment that changed everything. Marcus saw a urologist who barely spoke about medicine. He asked about his spiritual life. When Marcus mentioned he was Catholic, the doctor showed him an image of Our Lady and told him to go to Mass, to confession, to receive the Eucharist, and to pray the Rosary every day. Marcus understood it as a call from God, and he answered it.
In the very first month that he surrendered to God and walked back into the Church, I found out I was pregnant. After three years of waiting. Not after months of following the doctor's instructions. The first month.
We have no doubt that doctor was an angel God placed in our path. From that moment, everything changed. We married in the Church, dove headfirst into the Catholic faith, and welcomed our beloved daughter Luisa. How beautiful it is to be Catholic.
Santa Cruz was born from all of this. The name comes from the neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Marcus and I were both born. Santa Cruz, Holy Cross.
Our hope is that Santa Cruz will inspire you to live your faith boldly, in a world so desperately in need of beauty, and that by doing so, many will come to believe in our Lord.
Welcome to Santa Cruz. We are so glad you are here.