Éva, soon to be baptized: one Mass changed her life

“I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.” These are the words that thousands of catechumens around the world are preparing to hear on Easter night when they are baptized. Throughout Lent, Aleteia is sharing with you the stories of some of these men and women, who are happy to become children of God. Read all of the testimonies here. 

Éva, 27, didn’t wait to be baptized to get involved in the Church. The young woman, who will be baptized on Easter night, is already part of the logistics team of her parish, Saint-Louis, in Hyères (on the southeastern coast of France). She also helps lead the singing at mass. Next year, she plans to get involved as a volunteer during the pilgrimages to Lourdes.

“Making beds, helping the sick and elderly get around... Wherever the need is, whatever it is!” she says cheerfully. For Éva, one thing is certain: ”The journey doesn't end at baptism. It's just the beginning!”

Originally from Clermont-Ferrand, Éva moved to Var in 2022 for work as an administrative assistant. She gradually familiarized herself with a region that was new to her. “Early in 2023, one morning, I woke up with a certainty: I wanted to go to church. Luckily, it was a Sunday. I looked at the available Masses and chose the one at the church of Saint-Louis in Hyères,” she recalls.

At this first Sunday mass, Eva felt a little lost. ”People were getting up, sitting down… I didn't understand everything.” But gradually she let go. “I let myself be carried along. In the end, I burst into tears, overcome with emotion. I didn't know what was happening to me, but I felt a light invading me. ‘This is where I belong,’ I said to myself.”

The young woman's words flow with concern to “explain the inexplicable,” to explain “her conversion.” “In our lives, inexplicable things happen to all of us. I understood that the inexplicable could become explicable. And that explanation is Jesus.”

However, Eva didn’t immediately enter the catechumenate. She decided to continue attending Sunday Mass at Saint-Louis, alone, while deepening her knowledge of the Christian faith through reading and research. “I wanted to understand why I felt so at home in the Church, to discover the history of Christianity. I needed to anchor myself in my faith.”

Little by little, she joined the youth group and felt a deep desire to ask for baptism. “I wanted to be part of this family, to truly be a child of God and proclaim my faith loud and clear. I wanted to be able to say, ‘Yes, my name is Éva and I believe in God.’”

“We don't talk enough, or we talk badly, about religion,” the young woman continues. “Some people think it's a cult, that we're crazy.” At first, her parents were skeptical. “But I'm a very down-to-earth person. They know me and they know that I don't let my experiences get the better of me. They trust me.”

Although her parents were baptized in obedience to tradition, they had no particular connection with religion. Today, they see their daughter evolving positively. “They see that I’m at peace, and that it has changed me a lot. My mother now accompanies me to Sunday Mass and takes an interest in it.”

It’s difficult for Eva to summarize what particularly touches her in the message of Christ. There are so many things. “But if I really had to choose just one fundamental lesson, it would be that of forgiveness. The famous ‘Forgive them, for they know not what they do,’” she says thoughtfully. 

“Society pushes us to react violently to the wounds inflicted by others. The teachings of Christ teach us to be more patient, to put things into perspective and to enjoy every moment with our loved ones.” And she continues, “I try to bear witness to all this with my family and my friends. I act on my own level, I’m simply Éva! But an Éva who has a little more energy. I’m ready for what comes next!”