44 people take part in ceremony to join the Catholic Church in Dublin
Forty four people took part in a special ceremony in St. Mary’s Pro Cathedral in Dublin this afternoon (Sunday 21st) seeking to join the Catholic Church. Forty one people (called ‘catechumens’) presented to Archbishop Diarmuid Martin seeking recognition to be initiated into the Catholic Church by receiving Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist in their parishes at the Easter Vigil. Three others (called ‘candidates’) who previously belonged to other Christian denominations were presented seeking reception into the full communion of the Catholic Church.
This particular ceremony, called the Rite of Election takes place every year on the first Sunday of Lent.
The group, of various ages and from many different backgrounds, has already been on a path of formation, an ‘apprenticeship’ in Christian living, for a considerable period of time with their local Dublin parishes.
”The welcoming of people into the Catholic Church through what’s known as the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is a growing process in our diocese,” said Fr Damian Mc Neice, RCIA contact person for the Archdiocese. “The parishes involved over the past number of years have found themselves greatly enriched by welcoming and accompanying people as they grow on their faith journey. Their wanting to become one of us challenges us to live our faith in a more authentic way. It challenges us too not to take what we have received for granted, and to always be parishes that welcome and form people in prayer, the Scriptures, ongoing faith formation and social caring.”
Glossary:
Catechumens are those who have begun a process of formation in Christian faith, particularly rooted in the Word of God, and nurtured and supported by the faith, witness and companionship of the Christian community. After today’s celebration they will be called the elect and will begin their final period of preparation, which corresponds with Lent, for the Christian Initiation at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday night.
Candidates are those who are already baptised into another Christian communion, who wish to enter into the full communion of the Catholic Church in their parishes through the reception of Confirmation and Eucharist, also at the Easter Vigil. ENDS
