The Catholic Weekly’s 2026 series of Disciple Diaries opens with Brendan Schneider’s remarkable journey from the disorienting lights of Sydney’s early‑2000s rave scene and the rise of Pentecostalism, to the fresh spring of Catholic renewal now stirring in Sydney.
Raised Catholic in the Shire and educated at St Patrick’s, Sutherland, Brendan turned away from the faith as a teen. By age 18 he had moved to the city and fallen into the rave and party life, sustained by work so he could “party from Thursday through Sunday.”
Yet amid that lifestyle he met Adelina, his future wife at a party ironically called “God’s Kitchen.” They dated for 18 months and Brendan believed he had found happiness — until Adelina encountered Christianity.
“That caused huge problems in our relationship, mainly because I had a huge problem with anything related to God, but especially I had a special hatred reserved for Christianity,” Brendan recalls.
Her conversion strained their relationship: Brendan reacted with ridicule and total disdain for this new direction.
When Adelina could no longer tolerate his hostility she broke off contact.
Heartbroken, Brendan did something he hadn’t in years: he prayed. “God, if you’re real, I don’t want to lose this girl,” he prayed silently.
Minutes later he received an unexpected email from Adelina asking to meet. In that moment Brendan says he knew something had changed; he experienced God’s presence profoundly and felt the stirrings of faith return.
At their meeting Adelina noticed the change: “You look different. What’s happened to you?” Brendan remembers his surprised reply: “Jesus Christ is Lord.”
Together they sought deeper Christian life at a nearby Pentecostal congregation. The couple stayed engaged in that community for over a decade. Adelina served on the music team; Brendan went on mission trips, preached, and began preparing for pastoral leadership. “I wanted to be a pastor, to lead the church.”
Yet a question posed during a “New Believers” class shook him: a query about the Rapture launched a period of intense study. Reading Protestant material led Brendan back toward the ancient church Fathers and revealed Catholic themes that troubled his assumptions — especially the centrality of the Eucharist.
The more he read, the more the historical and sacramental continuity of the church pointed him toward Rome. He came to see that Christ founded a visible church, and that the Catholic Church held the marks of that foundation.
Curious and nervous, Brendan resolved to attend Mass. Expecting something “dead and lifeless,” he was surprised to find the Mass vivid and full of God’s presence.
“I went and it was like it was alive. I was seeing it with new eyes. It was just a regular weekday Mass, but it was beautiful. I really felt the presence of God there.” He and Adelina soon found a parish home at St Joseph’s, Enfield, and embraced Catholic sacramental life.
Though enriched by the sacraments, Brendan wondered how he could serve more fully. Adelina had heard of the Called and Gifted course offered by the Parish Renewal Team at the Sydney Centre for Evangelisation and signed him up.
The program helped him identify his charism — a gift of the Holy Spirit given for the good of the church.
“Called and Gifted was great. To have a structured program where they help you find your charism, what talents you have to help the church, is so valuable.”
Unsurprisingly, Brendan’s charism was teaching.
“Even in the Pentecostal church my favourite thing was to teach,” he says. Discovering teaching as his vocation within the Catholic context gave him clarity and purpose: to share the faith, instruct others, and help build the church’s life in Sydney.
Brendan’s journey stands as a testimony to God’s patient work in every heart and to the Catholic church’s power to form disciples equipped to teach and serve.
