Buddhist to Catholic: how the incorrupt saints changed everything

I grew up in a Buddhist family in Tokyo. I respected all religions but never felt drawn to any Western faith. Christianity seemed foreign to me, something for Europeans and Americans. In 2019, I was traveling in Italy for work and visited a church in Padua where they have the tongue of St. Anthony, perfectly preserved after 800 years. I stared at it for a long time. In Buddhism, we understand impermanence. Everything decays. Everything passes. But here was something that had not passed. I started researching incorrupt saints. I found Sacred Wonders and spent weeks reading about St. Bernadette, St. Catherine of Bologna, Blessed Carlo Acutis. Each story pulled me deeper. These were not myths or legends. These were documented, examined, photographed bodies that defied the natural order. I began attending Mass at the Catholic church in Shibuya. The priest was patient with my questions. I was baptized on Christmas Eve 2021. My family was confused at first, but they have come to respect my choice. I tell them: I did not abandon the search for truth. I found where it led.