LONDON, MARCH 15, 2011 (Zenit.org).- The thousands of people who will join the Catholic Church this Easter season are receiving in these days the rites that mark the final stages of their preparation.
In the dioceses of England and Wales, there were more than 4,700 candidates and catechumens who gathered last weekend in the cathedrals of their respective local Churches.
It is estimated that about 900 of these people will become members of the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, established for those of the Anglican Communion who wish to become Catholic while still maintaining elements of the Anglican tradition. Of that number, 61 are former Anglican clergy.
Bishop Kieran Conry, chair of the Department for Evangelisation and Catechesis of the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales, expressed the Church’s welcome: «The witness of so many people taking this life-changing step is so very encouraging. Each year people freely choose to come forward from all walks of life, bringing with them unique experiences and talents. The Catholic community welcomes them with love, friendship and the assurance of prayer.»
In Washington, D.C., two ceremonies are being held for the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion, due to the large number of people. That archdiocese will welcome 1,100 new members from about 100 parishes.
Cardinal Donald Wuerl, archbishop of Washington, will be presenting each of the catechumens and candidates with his book, «The Sacraments: A Continuing Encounter with Christ,» published now in English and Spanish.
In Miami, 489 catechumens took part in the Rite of Election. Archbishop Thomas Wenski told them, «Remain steadfast in prayer and know that your Catholic brothers and sisters are praying for you, and awaiting with great joy your entry into the Church.
«Remember the words spoken over and over again in the Scriptures and repeated to us so often by Pope John Paul II: Be not afraid. Don’t be afraid to walk through life as a friend of God.”
Meanwhile in Hong Kong, Bishop John Tong announced that his Church will baptize 3,400 catechumens, some 350 more than last year.
That diocese has been baptizing more than 2,000 people a year for the last several years, but in 2010, the number jumped to more than 3,000.
The increase is attributed to an «impressive commitment by the diocese and the mobilization of the laity,» according to the Fides agency. There are about 356,000 Catholics in Hong Kong, some 5% of the population.
Tradition
The Rite of Election is for those who are preparing for baptism and is also attended by those who have already been baptized in another Christian denomination and now want to be received into the Catholic Church. Those who have already been baptized are called candidates and will receive confirmation and Eucharist. Those who have never been baptized are called catechumens (or the elect, after they’ve received the Rite of Election) and will receive all three sacraments of initiation.
At the Easter Vigil on April 23, the celebration of the sacraments of initiation will take place. After the elect celebrate the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist, they are called neophytes, and they are considered to be full members of the Christian faithful. They will continue on with a period of reflection called mystagogy, which means «savoring the mysteries,» and lasts from Easter to Pentecost.
Anglicans joining the Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham will be received into the Church around Easter but according to a date established with the local bishops, with the aim of enabling them to celebrate the Triduum (Holy Thursday through Holy Saturday) as Catholics.
Those former Anglican clergy whose petitions for ordination have been accepted by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome will be ordained to the Catholic priesthood around Pentecost.
Tom Peterson, founder of the popular Catholics Come Home project, commented to ZENIT that about one in four visitors to the site are potential new members of the Church, that is people who select the «I’m not Catholic» portion of the site and spend an average of five minutes there.
He said the project is seeing a «surprising number of converts coming into the faith,» noting that spouses of Catholics who had declined for years to join the Church are doing so, as are people of other faiths or no religious faith at all.
