HOUSTON (OSV News) -- During Easter Vigil Masses March 30, at least 2,364 registered catechumens and candidates from parishes across the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston will be newly initiated into the Catholic Church or enter full communion with the church.
Catechumens are those who will receive baptism, first holy Communion and confirmation at the Easter Vigil, while candidates are those who have already been baptized and will receive one or both of the other two sacraments of initiation to be in full communion.
The 2024 number in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston is one of the biggest totals, if not the biggest, for U.S. archdioceses and dioceses this year. For the Texas archdiocese, it is an increase over last year's 1,820 and the first time it has welcomed more than 2,000 since 2019.
"The initiation of new members by Baptism, Confirmation and First Eucharist makes real the reason for the Easter Glory of Christ -- to spread that glory throughout the world by those who are always being converted to witness Christ in His Church," Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo said in his March 12 column "A Shepherd's Message" in the Texas Catholic Herald, the archdiocesan news outlet.
"Holy Week may seem to be an interruption, a time to be ignored. Yet, if we enter into it with even a modicum of attention, we experience a hot molten core of brightness. Such matters strengthen our faith," he said.
In reaching the final stretch of their journey to Easter, the catechumens and candidates were announced during four Rite of Election celebrations held around the archdiocese Feb. 18 and led by Cardinal DiNardo and Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell'Oro.
Traditionally held on the First Sunday of Lent, the rite was celebrated at St. Ignatius Church in Spring, Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church in northwest Houston, St. Maximilian Kolbe in Houston and Mary Queen Catholic Church in Friendswood.
At the four parishes, during the Rite of Election, the catechumens were presented with their godparents to the bishops and the faith community. The faithful taking this next step in their journey represented a cross section of the archdiocese, diverse in age, race, ethnicity and background, with many families and young people alike standing as their names were called.
After catechumens publicly affirmed their intention to join the church, the bishops, on behalf of the church, accept or "elect" them as being ready to take part in the sacraments of initiation.
In the pews of the crowded churches were parents holding babies, teenagers, young adults, college students, grandparents and adults, each recognizing their next step on their journey to the church. They came from 108 parishes around the archdiocese, with more than 1,000 youth among them.
Slowly, catechist leaders from dozens of parishes lined up in front of the church altars, holding open their Book of the Elect containing the names of those from their parishes.
Cardinal DiNardo and Bishop Dell'Oro viewed these names, with Cardinal DiNardo thumbing through the pages, complimenting and encouraging the catechists on their efforts to lead the faithful at their parishes.
After the rites, both Cardinal DiNardo and Bishop Dell'Oro signed pages upon pages of Books of the Elect, recognizing the names and journeys of the candidates and catechumens.
Also celebrated was the Call to Continuing Conversion, which presents the candidates, or those who were already baptized in other Christian traditions recognized by the Catholic Church, who desire to enter into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church.
Following the Rite of Election, the catechumens, now known as "the elect," begin a period of purification and enlightenment, which is the final, intense preparation for the reception of the sacraments of initiation during the Easter Vigil.
This annual Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion was repeated in churches large and small across the U.S.
In the Archdiocese of San Francisco, more than 1,400 people gathered with Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone at the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption Feb. 18. Among the attendees were 220 catechumens and 224 candidates. Represented were 51 parishes and one school -- Archbishop Riordan High School.
In the Archdiocese of Chicago, on the First and Second Sundays of Lent, thousands of parishioners gathered at Holy Name Cathedral to welcome adults preparing for initiation into the Catholic Church.
In all, 145 parish communities presented 366 adult catechumens and 192 adult candidates at the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. At one of the four scheduled ceremonies presided over by Chicago Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, Auxiliary Bishop Robert G. Casey or Auxiliary Bishop Mark A. Bartosic, each of the elect came forward to be welcomed personally by the prelates.
In a Feb. 28 column in Chicago Catholic, the archdiocesan news outlet, the cardinal said the local church saw an increase in the number of both catechumens and candidates. "This growing number is a great sign for the future of the church," he said, adding that "most of them were under the age of 30."
The Diocese of Salt Lake City held two ceremonies at the Cathedral of the Madeleine Feb. 17 to accommodate the 142 candidates and 556 catechumens from the five deaneries of the diocese. The weekend of Feb. 17-18 the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit was filled several times over during the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion as 360 catechumens and 433 candidates pledged their intention to continue toward the Easter Vigil to be welcomed into the church.
In the Archdiocese of Washington, about 1,350 people will be newly initiated in the church or enter into full Communion at the Easter Vigil. In the neighboring Archdiocese of Baltimore, 244 catechumens and 425 candidates, representing 61 parishes and pastorates, filled the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore Feb. 18 for the Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion.
About 360 catechumens from throughout the Archdiocese of Boston, joined by their godparents and catechists, participated in the Rite of Election at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston Feb. 18. The number marked an increase from the estimated 300 catechumens who participated in the Rite of Election in 2023.
According to Boston Cardinal Seán P. O'Malley, over 100,000 catechumens gathered at 200 cathedrals across the U.S. for the Rite of Election the same day.
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