Meet New Catholic Selina Johnson: The Faith Journey That Led Her Home To The Catholic Church

For many, finding the Catholic Church can be a long journey full of twists and turns along the way. This is certainly the case for Selina Johnson, who was welcomed into full communion with the Catholic Church through First Communion and Confirmation this past Easter.

Selina’s story of finding the Catholic Church starts in her childhood, as she was raised in a Baptist church. Religion wasn’t a priority to her parents, who suffered from mental illness — a friend’s family would occasionally take Selina to a nondenominational/Pentecostal church. Later,Selina married her first husband, who was an atheist. Her second husband was a former Catholic. After 16 years, Selina fled from her

second husband due to domestic violence. She met her current boyfriend, Dan Wishall, and started attending Catholic Mass with him.

“When I left my second husband, literally everything I needed was provided for me,” Selina says. “My real journey started with that. There was no denying that God was there. He was an integral part of this. He put people in my life that led me to the Catholic Church.”

Selina Johnson came into the Catholic Church this past Easter.

Selina soon found that Catholic Mass just really filled her desire for Truth.

“The historical and theological teachings of the Catholic Church sat really well with me,” Selina says. “Everything is Scripture-bound. The Catholic Church follows traditions that go back to the original church. There’s a substance here that’s not found anywhere else.”

After attending Mass here at St. John Before the Latin Gate for a while and learning more about the Catholic Church, Selina became interested in entering into the Catholic faith. One week during Mass, there was a presentation on the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults process (RCIA) — this was the final push that Selina needed. She enrolled in classes and received her first Holy Communion and Confirmation at the Easter Vigil. Pat Netzer served as her Confirmation sponsor.

“RCIA was a blessing with all those who God put around me,” Selina says. “There were wonderful people who came into my life. God has blessed me very intensely by putting the right people in my life.”

Having attended at least 15 different churches throughout her life, Selina is so glad to have found a home here at St. John’s. She learned so much in RCIA classes and believes this element of formation is missing at many other congregations.

“RCIA makes it more relatable and special,” Selina says. “Without that knowledge, you are just showing up.”

Selina is on fire for the faith and she loves to share it. She helps with the Religious Education classes at St. James Parish, and recently, she even had a theological discussion with a neighbor who is not Catholic.

“I explained to her that the Rosary is the most important sword we have in our arsenal,” she says.

Selina is excited to continue to learn more about the faith and is especially excited about regularly receiving the sacraments.

“RCIA really goes through what the sacraments are and what they mean,” Selina says. “We learned how important they are in the Catholic faith.”

A resident of Jenks, Selina is a mother of two — Lauren, 24, and Jack, 16. She works for TRACT Radiology as an accountant and plans to spread her love of the Catholic faith by teaching religious education this fall at St. John’s.

“I just feel like I am right where I am supposed to be,” she says.

Selina Johnson celebrates her entry into the Catholic faith.