Five faith facts about Marco Rubio: 'Once a Catholic always a Catholic'
Apr. 13, 2015
by Lauren Markoe, Religion News Service
NCR Today
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla,), who launched his presidential campaign Monday,often talks about faith, and went into depth about his religious convictions in his 2012 book, An American Son: A Memoir.
Here are five faith facts about this Catholic son of Cuban immigrants who has also found comfort in Mormonism and a Southern Baptist church:
1. He was once a serious, young Mormon
Rubio's parents baptized him Catholic, and he is now a practicing Catholic, but when he was 8, his family moved from South Florida to Las Vegas, where his mother attributed the wholesomeness of the neighborhood to the influence of the Mormon church. Young Rubio was baptized again, this time in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He spent three years as a Mormon, upheld its teachings more enthusiastically than his parents, and chided his father for working as a bartender, a no-no for Mormons who abstain from alcohol.
2. He frequents a Southern Baptist megachurch
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Rubio and his wife, Jeannette, often visit Miami's Christ Fellowship, a Southern Baptist congregation the couple appreciates for its strong preaching and children's programs. Rubio has donated at least $50,000 to the church, which he attended almost exclusively from 2000 to 2004. But he now finds his religious home in Catholic churches in Washington, D.C., and Florida. In his memoir, Rubio writes that he will go with his family to Christ Fellowship on Saturday nights, and Mass on Sundays at St. Louis Catholic Church. His children have received first Communion.
http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/five-faith-facts-about-marco-rubio-once-catholic-always-catholic
Once a republican, always a republican.
