St. Anselm’s Abbey School senior Guanyu “Marshall” Zhu described one of the first moments he considered converting to Catholicism as a “first sip of water” after a long search.
This happened while he was speaking with Benedictine Father Ignacio González, the campus minister at the Washington, D.C., school, about philosophy following his Kairos retreat. Later when Zhu decided to become Catholic, Father Ignacio became his Confirmation sponsor and godparent.
“I felt genuine joy. It’s very hard to describe the feeling, but it’s joy, [that was] really overwhelming at that point. Nothing extraordinary, just really nice. I was like, ‘I think he (Father Ignacio) is really happy, maybe there’s something to it,’” Zhu said.
Although he said nothing that day fit the bill of a “stereotypical miracle,” everything that day felt a little nicer: the air was cool but not cold, the sun was out, and the conversation was enjoyable.
Zhu was born in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, China, and moved to Nanjing when he was 10 years old. He first learned about the faith when he joined Saint Anselm’s his freshman year in 2020, during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On the morning of April 22, Zhu had the rare opportunity to be baptized among his peers in a Mass celebrated by Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory. Students sat in the school’s auditorium and witnessed Zhu experience his first sacraments and convert to Catholicism.
Before receiving his first Communion, Zhu was baptized by the cardinal.
Cardinal Gregory shared how much there was to consider, as the day was not only Zhu’s Baptism and Confirmation but also St. Anselm’s feast day and Earth Day.
“It is a moment when people are pausing to give thanks to God for the creation of this world and to promise that we’ll try to maintain it, as it’s a gift, not only to us but to those who will follow,” Cardinal Gregory said.
He spoke to the students about their classmate joining the Church.
“In a special way today, ‘Marshall’ will celebrate the beginnings of his faith life in the Church. He no doubt found that first beginning in the lives of his family here in Washington, but also in your lives. And I want to make sure that you realize that you become great witnesses of faith for him,” Cardinal Gregory said.
He went on to say that, paraphrasing Saint Pope Paul VI, people do not just follow a teacher’s words; they follow the teacher’s actions. Cardinal Gregory believes that how Zhu’s peers behaved and “witnessed” around Zhu helped inspire him in his faith journey.
Cardinal Gregory explained how the sacraments Zhu was receiving are representational of Catholicism.
“In a real way, in today’s sacrament moment, we are giving the sign, (the) expression of the faith of our Church. We will take you into the waters of Baptism, anoint you with the oil of the Holy Spirit, and feed you with the Body and Blood of Christ, making you more perfectly, more sacramentally our brother. How happy we are to have you,” Cardinal Gregory said.
China is officially an atheist state, and Zhu explained he did not grow up knowing a lot about the faith – even noting he did not know the word for “Catholic” in Chinese – but both his parents back home are supportive of his decision, and he describes his mother as “curious” about Catholicism.
“They think I can make my own choice, and they are happy for me if I’m happy,” Zhu said. “When I was in China last summer, my mom went to church in Nanjing to attend Mass with me…it was really nice.”
He noted a few slight differences in the Mass, especially since he learned the parts of the Mass in English, including when to kneel.
Making the decision for Zhu started with studying Catholic doctrine, and then became more personal.
“It’s less about finding God, but more about finding myself. I’m always sort of living with God, just I do not know who He is. By studying Him, His picture is getting more clear over time. Jesus describes our body as the temple of God. And for me it’s really less of a transformation of the body, but more of when I was little, I was confused what kind of body I was living in and now see more clearly,” Zhu said. “It’s a temple of God.”
Zhu will attend Harvard University in the fall and plans to major in philosophy and minor in mathematics or classics, and will attend Mass at St. Paul’s Parish in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and potentially join the Harvard Catholic Center.
