Illinois Senator Mark Kirk, who suffered a stroke in January 2012 and spent the last year learning how to walk again, returned to Capitol Hill Thursday for the convening of the 113th Congress, climbing the steps of the Capitol building for his swearing-in by Vice President Joe Biden. Watch:

Kirk, who became a member of the Senate in 2010 (after ten years in the House), told the Chicago Daily Herald that his stroke was something of a religious awakening:

"I would say that I definitely became much more religious," Kirk said. "They say there are no atheists in foxholes, and this stroke put me into a very deep foxhole. Yet, that feeling of faith sustained me, so I have no feelings of anger or regret."

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J.K. Trotter