Not many people can say they’ve received five of the seven Sacraments in the space of a week, but that was exactly what happened for 28-year-old Loren Thacker-Leach.

Loren was received into the Church at Easter in 2025, receiving the Sacraments of Baptism, Reconciliation, Holy Communion, and Confirmation, before entering into the Sacrament of Marriage the following weekend.   

It was a whirlwind part of a long journey where everything just “fell into place”, Loren recalls.

“There are many things in my life that I never thought would be happening at the moment, but they just are,” she says. “I can't explain it any other way other than that the Holy Spirit has sent me on a journey and showed me exactly where I needed to be, because nothing else makes sense.”

Born in England, Loren and her parents arrived in Australia when she was 6. Although her parents attended Anglican schools, Loren’s upbringing was devoid of any religious instruction or practice.

After completing university degrees in PPE (politics, philosophy and economics) and international security studies, Loren began working in the public service.

In 2020, she met her future husband Cameron, who was raised Catholic but had drifted away from his faith as a young adult.

“He didn't attend church… but he always said to me, ‘[My faith] is something that I want to be part of my life forever’,” Loren recalls.

A few years later, after hitting a low point in the relationship and struggling with anxiety, Loren says she began to deeply question the meaning and purpose of her life.

“At the time, I'd been reading Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment,” she says. “The protagonist in that novel has this crisis of meaning and he comes face-to-face with someone who is very deep in the faith. And he realises that God is the way to his redemption.”

With an interest in faith sparked, Loren reached out to the only person she knew who had a connection with the Catholic faith.

“I contacted Cameron's mother, and I said, ‘Can I come to Mass with you?’” she says.

“So I went to my first Mass, and it just struck me from the outset that it was very different to what I had expected. I thought you go to church to be told how bad you are… but it wasn't like that.

“It was peaceful. It was song, reflection, meditation. It was something very powerful.”

After sharing her experience with Cameron, the pair began to attend Sunday Mass together and to discuss deep questions about faith, Jesus and the Bible.

A few months later, Loren and Cameron were engaged, leading to an even more important question for Loren: did she want to become Catholic?

“Of course I did,” she says. “I joined the RCIA program at the parish where we were going to get married, and then as it came close to finishing, the parish needed a secretary. I applied, and now I work at the parish.”

Loren says the RCIA was so enjoyable that she joined the process a second time, and will be participating again later this year to share her story of faith.

“It was like, on a Wednesday evening, I just go and talk theology with people, and it was just a nice, fun place to go,” she says. “There's not many places that you can go and just talk to people about things like that.”

Loren was received into the Church at the Easter Vigil (April 19) in 2025, before marrying Cameron a week later.

“That was a very big month,” Loren says. “Marriage has taken on a new meaning for me because now it's a sacrament, it's not just a government piece of paper.”

Earlier this year, Loren gave birth to the couple’s first child, who was baptised exactly a year after her own baptism, at the same church.

Loren says her parish community has been an enormous part of her faith journey, with fellow parishioners becoming her major support network and sharing in the milestones of her life.

“The people at my baptism, the people at our son's baptism, the people at our wedding, they were all from our parish community,” she says. “They were there for me during the time I was coming into the faith, then becoming a wife, and now becoming a mother.

“And our parish priest is not only my spiritual guide… he's also my friend.”

Working as the parish secretary has also been a Godsend for Loren, who says there’s no better job for a new Catholic to have.

“It’s been a huge help to my faith because at any point I'm able to ask our parish priest any questions that I have,” she says.

“If I'm typing the Gospel out for our parish bulletin and I really like a line, I can just ask him, ‘What do you think this line means?’ So I'm always learning.”

Reflecting on her journey and how her life has changed in the space of a few years, Loren says she’s constantly amazed at how God has worked in her life.

“I'd been lost for so long, and I’ve finally found where I was supposed to be,” she says.

“I was in the church the other night holding my son and thinking, how has this happened? How has my life changed so much that this is my happy place?”

Her advice to others exploring the Catholic faith or searching for meaning in life is simple – ask questions and take a leap of faith.

“If you're considering it, there's no harm in jumping in and giving it a go,” Loren says. “Don't put it off because you might regret it, and it might be happening at a time when the Holy Spirit has come knocking for you. Don't be afraid.”

Image: Supplied
Words: Matthew Biddle