Join Archbishop Wilton D. Gregory at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC, where he welcomed hundreds of people who are joining the Catholic Church this Easter.
This year at Easter, the Archdiocese of Washington will welcome more than 1,100 adults, teens, and children who will be baptized or received into full Communion in the Catholic Church. More than one-third of these participants are from the Spanish-speaking community. On two consecutive Sundays, the archdiocese will gather these individuals along with their Godparents and sponsors to celebrate the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. Because of the large number of individuals attending the liturgy who come from approximately 90 parishes and seven university campuses, the archdiocese holds liturgies on two consecutive Sundays.
The Rite of Election marks the participants’ desire to become Catholic and kicks off a final period of intense spiritual preparation called Purification and Enlightenment, where the elect join Catholics around the world in the Lenten practices of practice prayer and fasting. During the Rite of Election, godparents for the non-Christians, or catechumens, vow that the catechumens are prepared for baptism. After asking the catechumens if this is what they desire, they are declared “the elect,” who have been chosen by God to enter the Church. Similarly, individuals will formally recognize the readiness of those already-baptized Christians, or candidates, to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church.
At the Easter Vigil, the celebration of the Sacraments of Initiation will take place at each of the parishes. The elect celebrate the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist where they will be called neophytes, and would then be considered full members of the Christian faithful. After Easter, they continue on a period of reflection called mystagogy (which means “savoring the mysteries”), that runs through their first year from their initiation into the Church. The candidates, having already been baptized, celebrate Confirmation and the Eucharist at the Easter Vigil. There the candidates will embrace full membership in the Catholic Church.
The Light is On for you this Lent in the Archdiocese of Washington! For information on Mass times, Confession times, how-to guides, and more during Lent, we invite you to visit: TheLightIsOn.org/
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