RICHARD LANE was handing out Bibles on the streets of St. Louis one Saturday morning.

It was not the first time he had done this work, but this particular morning he felt that he was being led to say something, to share the Good News to those passing by. So he swallowed his pride, said a Hail Mary and began to proclaim what the Our Father meant to him. In his words, a street preacher was born that day.

The son of National Football Hall of Fame cornerback Dick “Night Train” Lane and co-founder of Qorban Ministries, spoke recently with Register correspondent Eddie O’Neill about his 19-year journey into the Church and his work in evangelization.

What was your faith life growing up with a father who played professional football? Did you go to church regularly?

My mother and father divorced when I was about 5 years old and I was raised by my mother. Growing up in Detroit in the 1960s, my mother made sure I went to the Lutheran church every Sunday. I also attended Lutheran schools from kindergarten through the 10th grade. 

My father was not an overtly religious man. However, he was a member of the same church my mother and I attended. Dad did not go to church all the time, but when he did he seemed to enjoy it and also was an usher when he attended.

One thing that really stood out to me as a youth was the fact that we only had Communion twice a month. I can remember going to church, and if I noticed that the two candles were lit on the altar, it meant that it was a communion Sunday. When they were not lit, I recall feeling disappointed and that something was missing. It would not be until I went through the RCIA that I would realize what truly was missing in my life.

When I was about 15 years old, I told my mother I was tired of our boring church and did not want to go anymore. She said, “You might not want to go to this church, but you are going to go to somebody’s church.” So my best friend, Maurice Wilson, invited me to his church, Greater Grace Missionary Baptist.

How did you end up in the Catholic Church? Tell us the story of your years as a “pretend Catholic.”

I entered the United States Army Military Police Corps in 1984. I realized that I needed to be going to somebody’s church, just as my mother told me. The military at that time only had Protestant, Baptist and Catholic services. I did not really like the Protestant and Baptist services and when I went to the Catholic Mass, it really seemed like home to me. The liturgy was similar to the Lutheran Church of my youth.

It was not until around 1990 when I wound up in Oakland, Calif., that I really started to get somewhat serious about my Catholic faith. I began attending this wonderful church called Our Lady of Lourdes in Lake Merritt and there was a wonderful Irish-Catholic priest, Father Seamus Genovese, who is still there, who played such a huge part in my formation.

I was encouraged by the parishioners to become active in the parish. So, I began singing in the choir and ushering and being a greeter, etc. I really fell in love with the parish community, but no one really asked me for my “Catholic card.” No one asked to see if I was baptized a Catholic.

I moved to St. Louis, Mo., in 1998 and was searching for a church home when I found St. Alphonsus Liguori “Rock” Church. The “Rock” Church is a well-known, distinguished African-American Catholic Church. I knew I wanted to be a part of this family. So, when their Sign-Me-Up Sunday came, I signed up for everything and then all of a sudden someone asked me for my “Catholic card.”

When asked if I was a baptized Catholic, I said, “I am Catholic just like you guys. I can do the Sign of the Cross and I can pray the Hail Mary just like you.”

At this point, I realized I needed to get serious with this conversion thing. I began the RCIA process and entered the Church in April of 2003.

What was the RCIA process like for you?

This process was nothing like I had ever experienced in my life. The Holy Spirit opened up a whole new world to me. I began to see the Bible as I had never seen it before.

But nothing opened up my heart more than what I learned about the Eucharist. It is truly the body of Christ Jesus.

I can go sit with him; I can pray to him and most of all I can receive him in my body. His flesh is true food. That is what blew me away. It was at that moment that I realized what had been calling me to the Catholic Church all my life; the Eucharist.

What does it mean to be a Catholic evangelist?

There were several people who called me an evangelist because of my street preaching. My wife said that it was an honor bestowed upon me but I struggled for a long time with the title “evangelist.”

There was no school on how to become a Catholic evangelist. I had done a lot of research on the Internet and even found an interesting article on the website Catholic Evangelist [flameministries.org/evangelist] and it said things about having hands laid on you by a bishop.

So I went to the archbishop of St. Louis, Archbishop Raymond Burke, and spoke with him about what I was doing. I did not want word to get back to him that there was some crazy black man on the streets of St. Louis, passing out Bibles, calling himself a Catholic evangelist. 

I advised His Excellency of what I was doing and asked for his blessing. I also asked him if it was permissible for him to lay his hand upon my head and give me his blessing as a Catholic evangelist. So in October of 2006, the archbishop gave me his blessing. I was told in the spirit of Matthew 28:19 to go and boldly proclaim the Good News of Christ to the entire world.

Tell us about Qorban Ministries?

My wife, Donna, and I began Qorban Ministries in 2005. It is dedicated to serving the poor, needy and suffering through preaching, teaching and sharing the Word of God. Little did my wife and I know at the time, that the ministry began the day I began to pass out Bibles on the streets.

Through generous donations, we have been able to find homes for the homeless and mentors for unwed mothers who have never had someone care for them. When we are out on the streets, we talk to the gang bangers, drug dealers and the prostitutes.

One day, I was reading Mark 7:11. That verse speaks of things being qorban, which in Hebrew means dedicated to God or offering a sacrifice to God. The Spirit led me and my wife to meditate and reflect on this passage for a long time, and we realized that is what we wanted to name our ministry.

I have been blessed to be a speaker at various Catholic conferences, parish missions and revivals across the country. Money raised through these speaking engagements goes towards our effort to bring Christ to others.

My wife is a certified master catechist and does a number of spiritual retreats and teaches who we are and whose we are.

We must first learn how to evangelize ourselves before we can evangelize others. Being Christ-like to others and seeing Christ in others is the essence of evangelization.

Eddie O’Neill writes from

Green Bay, Wisconsin.