A moment at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception became the beginning of a journey that would lead one University of Maryland student into the Catholic Church this Easter.
Cheyenne Jackson, a sophomore psychology major from Annapolis, Maryland, was received into the Church at the Easter Vigil on April 4 after a year of formation through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults.
Jackson did not grow up practicing a faith.
“My dad is an atheist, and my mom… we never went to church,” she said. “I had no idea what she was talking about when she would say things like, ‘Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain.’”
But a visit to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception the summer before her freshman year at Towson University in Annapolis, marked a turning point.
Jackson recalled sitting near a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary holding the child Jesus, alongside a former boyfriend’s mother, who is Catholic.
“She asked me, ‘What’s the difference between this statue and all the others in the church?’” Jackson said. “And I didn’t really understand at first.”
Then something clicked.
“I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, she’s playing with Jesus, that’s her baby,’” Jackson said.
She began to notice the reaction of the woman beside her.
“I could see her getting teary-eyed, kind of holding herself,” she said.
“That night, I just kept thinking about it,” Jackson said. “If it can move and change lives so much, it could do the same for me.”
After transferring to the University of Maryland in College Park, Jackson went to Mass the week before classes started, hoping to steady her nerves.
“I was nervous about school, so I thought, ‘Why don’t I just go to Mass?’” she said. “Just to take a moment and breathe.”
At the university’s Catholic Student Center, she met fellow students and Father Conrad Murphy, the chaplain there.
“It wasn’t a lot of people at first, but I met a few, and then when school started, there were Wednesday night dinners and all these events,” she said.
Jackson signed up to learn more about the faith, not initially realizing she was beginning the OCIA process.
“I told myself there’s nothing wrong with going to learn,” she said. “And if I didn’t want to continue, I could just stop.”
But she didn’t stop.
While the content of the classes was familiar to her, it was the relationships she formed that made the difference.
“Honestly, I would say the people,” she said. “We would bounce ideas off each other. It just made me want to keep going.”
Her sponsor, fellow sophomore Malia Schmelzer, accompanied her through the process as Jackson prepared to receive the sacraments at the Easter Vigil.
Looking back, Jackson said courage played a key role in her journey, especially in choosing to show up.
“You don’t know how many times I’ve just held my breath and walked into someplace,” she said.
For other students who may feel drawn to the faith but hesitant to take the first step, her advice is simple:
“Don’t think,” she said. “Just go.”
