Catechumens and candidates in the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) formation program at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle parish in Washington, D.C. received their Sacraments of Initiation on April 16 during the Easter Vigil.

While catechumens – who were recognized as the elect at the Rite of Election at the beginning of Lent – had not yet been baptized, candidates had been baptized as Catholics or in other Christian faiths and desired to come into full communion with the Catholic Church. At the Easter Vigil, the elect received the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Communion, and candidates received the sacraments of Confirmation and Communion, and they became full members of the Catholic Church.

Kelsey Canfield, a graduate student at George Washington University, was among 11 people who received the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Communion at the Easter Vigil at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, as was Chena Bolton, a real estate professional. In interviews, they described the journeys of faith that led them to become Catholic.

Canfield recalled attending Mass with her grandmother until she graduated from high school. She was unable to locate any documentation supporting her grandmother's belief that she been baptized previously, so she was baptized during the vigil. 

 Her great-grandmother was the first in her family to convert to Catholicism. 

 “My grandmother is Catholic, my great-grandmother actually converted to Catholicism from being a Methodist; she married an Irish Catholic man against her parents’ will. I really love that story, because she had come to Catholicism through love, right? And to me, Catholicism is synonymous for love,” Canfield said. 

Canfield, who grew up with some Catholic influences, said her decision was not well received by everyone in her family. She noted, “There’s a lot of things that are within Catholicism that, unless you’re really ready to fully submit and give yourself to God and be like, ‘I’m a human being, I fail regularly,’ and be able to confess that…that can be really challenging for people, I think.” 

When Canfield lived in the Middle East, her interest in Catholicism grew.

“I was really able to draw on my studies of Islam and Judaism, as well, and find a lot of parallels with Catholicism specifically that I was not able to find with more of this Evangelical, kind of Christian rock concert, New Age churches that I think are going on,” Canfield said. 

“I really appreciate the tradition, and I felt like, for me, Catholicism really made sense because of the interconnectivity amongst the other two monotheistic religions,” Canfield said. 

Chena Bolton was born in Liberia and raised in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, before settling in Washington, D.C. in 2008. She had never been baptized, despite having been raised to go to church on occasion. 

Bolton was inspired to become a Catholic during a foreign trip, where she learned more about Pope Francis’s character.

“Just before COVID started, I happened to go on a trip to Argentina, and I had just heard the pope’s Christmas address which talked about the plight of refugees, and it really hit home because my family (members) are refugees from Liberia,” Bolton said. “The more I started hearing about him and his commitment to being a modest person, I was really, really inspired.” 

Pope Francis was born in Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires. He has spoken out about the migrant crisis on numerous occasions, and he has condemned the suffering in refugee camps. 

“The more that I learned about [Pope Francis], the more I was like, oh, I might want some Catholicism in my life, so I came here for Ash Wednesday,” Bolton said, referring to Ash Wednesday in 2021. “I just really loved the message, I thought that it was a great time, I felt a calling from God.”

Bolton has embraced St. Matthew’s Cathedral and works with its Monday Morning Ministry, an outreach to the homeless. The cathedral describes the mission of this ministry as “to serve our guests, working to meet their material and spiritual needs as an expression of our love of God and neighbor.”

“We feed the homeless and then we get to talk about Scripture with them, and then there’s also supplies for them, things to help them to get through the week, like clean socks, hand sanitizer, shampoo, things like that, just to help them keep themselves clean and dignified and learning more, (helping them to be) closer to God,” Bolton said. 

After receiving their Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil, Canfield and Bolton are in a phase in the RCIA process known as “mystagogia” until Pentecost on Sunday, June 5. Mystagogy is defined as “the interpretation of mystery.” This refers to the mysteries of the sacraments, on which those RCIA participants will reflect and continue to learn.