The CHNetwork began in 1993 out of the seemingly isolated experiences of several Protestant clergy and their spouses. Upon leaving their pastorates to enter the Catholic Church, these clergy and their families discovered with surprise that there were many others being drawn by the Spirit to take the same journey “home.”

To help bring these inquirers and converts together, a simple newsletter was started, and gatherings and retreats were scheduled. Much enthusiasm was expressed by the converts and their spouses at the first of these gatherings entitled “How Should We Then Serve?” and the fellowship has continued to grow ever since.

Now, every week the Lord adds new names to our membership as clergy and laity from other traditions seek assistance and encouragement as they contemplate coming home to the Catholic Church.

The CHNetwork has been featured on the EWTN television and radio as well as in national publications, such as Our Sunday Visitor, the National Catholic Register, Christianity Today, This Rock, Lay Witness, and The Catholic Answer.

This lay apostolate has also received constant encouragement, from such Church leaders as Cardinal Francis Eugene George, Archbishop Raymond Burke, Mother Angelica of EWTN, Karl Keating of Catholic Answers, Patrick Madrid of Envoy Magazine, Dr. Thomas Howard, Dr. Scott Hahn, and Fr. Michael Scanlan, Chancellor of Franciscan University of Steubenville, Ohio.

Though not generally known, Protestant clergy and laity from across the denominational spectrum are coming home to the Catholic Church. This journey, though overflowing with endless joys and blessings, can also be traumatic. It often results in the loss of friends and family, as well as the loss of career and financial support. It usually requires a rethinking of one’s doctrinal and moral convictions, as well as one’s vocation as a child of God.

Nevertheless, clergy and laity by the hundreds are entering the Catholic Church with great joy. They come with great enthusiasm and commitment to follow Jesus Christ wherever He leads, even if this means coming out of their previously comfortable and familiar spiritual surroundings into the Catholic Church. Many of them come with great gifts for ministry, including years of training and experience, along with information and ideas for authentic Church renewal.

Sometimes the most difficult part of the journey occurs after they have come home. They may feel unwelcome in their local parish and disoriented by the hierarchical structure of the diocese. They may find themselves overwhelmed by the great diversity of religious groups and spiritualities. They may become particularly disconcerted when they discover the large number of Catholics who seem to know little about their faith.

Even as they find their way through all of these things into authentic Catholic life and worship, they may still yearn for some of what they have left behind. Having resigned from their pastoral ministries, clergy converts especially struggle now with how to continue using their gifts for ministry while also supporting their families. The goal of the CHNetwork is to assist the Catholic Church in fulfilling its mission of evangelization and its call for Christian unity, as proclaimed by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical, That They May Be One (Ut Unum Sint).

We seek to assist the Catholic Church in fulfilling its mission of evangelization and its call for Christian Unity, as most recently proclaimed by Pope John Paul II in his encyclical Ut Unum Sint ("That They May Be One"). In cooperation with the Catholic Bishops, the Coming Home Network International was established to help inquiring clergy as well as laity of other traditions return home and then be at home in the Catholic Church, by providing: