A Deathbed Conversion – By GEORGE BRAINE My grandfather Charles Stanley Braine was born an Anglican. In 1924, he married Engracia Nonis, who was a Catholic, at a Catholic church. (The two witnesses were Catholic nuns.) Their nine children were brought up as Catholics attended Catholic schools. Charles Stanley is buried in the Anglican Section of Negombo’s General Cemetery. But, on a visit to my aunt Bridget in England about 10 years ago, I found a yellowed newspaper clipping among her papers which told a strange story. My aunt later confirmed its veracity. The clipping is from the Catholic Messenger dated 5 March 1944. (Charles Stanley died on Feb. 11, 1944, in Negombo.) The article is written by a Catholic priest, going by the acronym XYZ. He does not identify Charles Stanley by name (only as Mr. X, an Englishman) nor does he even mention the town where the incident occurred. I ...

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