At the Easter Vigil on March 30, 2024 in churches across The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, about 1,350 people will enter into full Communion with the Catholic Church, including the elect, those who have not been baptized and are preparing to receive at Easter all three of the Catholic Church’s sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist. Also becoming full members of the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil will be candidates, those who have already been baptized in the Catholic faith or who have been baptized in another Christian faith and who are preparing to receive the sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Eucharist. Some people preparing to become full members of the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil in the archdiocese share the stories of their journeys of faith in this Lenten series of articles.
Attending her Catholic elementary school, St. Ambrose School in Cheverly, Maryland, launched Jada Bruce’s academic studies. She went on to graduate from Elizabeth Seton High School in Bladensburg and then attended Towson University in Maryland, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in communication. She now works as a higher education market insights research manager in the Washington, D.C. area.
In that role, she supports colleges and universities in achieving their expansion and developmental goals around enrollment and program-to-labor market alignment.
Bruce said attending St. Ambrose School also sparked her interest in Catholicism, and at this year’s Easter Vigil at St. Joseph Church in Largo, she will become Catholic, receiving her First Communion and the sacrament of Confirmation. Growing up, Bruce and her sister were primarily raised by their mother and grandparents as members of the Baptist Church.
“The Church’s boldness in professing Christ’s presence, his teachings, and his calling on our lives is one of the biggest inspirations on my journey to becoming Catholic,” Bruce said in an email interview, adding, “For as long as I can remember, faith and Christian values have been a big part of my immediate family, but I didn’t experience members of the church living Christ’s teachings until I was enrolled in a Catholic elementary school. During that time, I saw a lot of members of the Church professing and living the faith inside and outside of the church, and being able to experience their joy and courage became something I aspired to do for myself.”
Bruce noted that just as she was once inspired by people witnessing to their faith, she hopes to do the same and help others connect with Christ and experience “what a life of faith looks like.”
“My journey of faith has made me more selective in what I expose myself to and who I surround myself with, and it has heightened the standards I hold myself to,” Bruce said. “After completing the sacraments of initiation, I look forward to continuing to grow in my faith, giving more space to God’s intention for my life, and being able to build a community where my faith is the foundation. And I hope for the future, I can connect others with Christ and demonstrate what a life of faith looks like just as so many people have done for me leading up to this point.”
