Fides Entrepreneurship: Ash Wednesday, Wayne Weddington and his conversion

It was a cold January Sunday morning on Park Avenue. The city was quiet, save for the footsteps of parishioners making their way

Author

Luca Zocche
March 06, 2025

It was a cold January Sunday morning on Park Avenue. The city was quiet, save for the footsteps of parishioners making their way into Saint Ignatius for the 11:00 High Mass. Another Lord’s Day on the Upper East Side.

I stood in the church’s narthex, speaking with those who passed by, sharing our work in building the next generation of Catholic entrepreneurs. As I greeted people, an older gentleman approached and asked, “What is it that you do?”

I explained our vision: that young people need role models—successful business leaders who recognize their faith as the foundation of their success. He listened intently, then surprised me by saying he had actually announced one of our talks the previous week.

As we spoke, he shared his own story. He had founded a private equity firm, yet had only recently converted to the faith. One line from our conversation stood out to me:

“People have lost the use of faith in the ordinary course of their lives and in business. But I always feel particularly blessed on Ash Wednesday when I walk through the business corridors and see how many of my counterparts have ashes on their foreheads. It reminds me that faith is more present than we think. I use it as a source of inspiration and a moral guidepost, and I find that it’s very powerful.”

His words resonated deeply. How often do we forget that faith is still alive in places where we least expect it? Each year, Ash Wednesday serves as a quiet yet striking reminder. Amid the pressures of work and daily life, men and women in the highest ranks of finance and business pause to receive ashes, publicly acknowledging their need for God.

A priest at the Saint Jean Baptiste church once told me:

“If we had the church attendance we see on Ash Wednesday—90%—every Sunday, the Church wouldn’t be in the dire straits it is today.”

He was right. If only the same conviction that draws so many back to Mass on that day could remain throughout the year.

Wayne—this private equity founder—had felt that pull for years before his conversion. Ash Wednesday had always stood out to him, even before he took the step toward faith. And he is not alone.

Perhaps you know someone like Wayne—someone who only attends Mass on Ash Wednesday, or who is searching for something greater but hasn’t yet found their way back to the Church. I encourage you to invite them to this talk.

Let them see that faith is not just a relic of the past but a living, breathing force—one that can guide them in business, in M&A, in life, and in their journey to God.

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