Why did Saint Paul convert to Christianity?

St. Paul was converted by Christ Himself by His appearance to him on the road to Damascus. This encounter brought about his dramatic and immediate conversion.

In commenting on the conversion of St. Paul, Pope Benedict XVI states that when Paul met Christ on the road to Damascus, “…it was not simply a conversion… but rather a death and a resurrection for Paul himself. One existence died and another, a new one was born with the Risen Christ.”