At Rite of Election, candidates, catechumens take final steps on their journey to the Church

Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, reads the names in a Book of the Elect during the Rite of Election at Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston Feb. 18. Four Rites of Election were held around the Archdiocese, with at least 2,364 registered to join or enter full communion with the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. (Photo by James Ramos/Herald)

HOUSTON — A couple gazed at each other, holding hands, as they stood as two of the 2,364 registered candidates and catechumens of the Archdiocese who were announced during four Rite of Election celebrations on Feb. 18 held around the Archdiocese.

Moments later, still holding hands, the couple beamed following the verbal and visible sign of their commitment to enter fully into the Catholic Church as a candidate or catechumen, thus reaching the final stretch of their journey to Easter and joining the Catholic Church.

Daniel Cardinal DiNardo and Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, celebrated the Rite of Election for those preparing to enter the Catholic Church at Easter. The 2024 total is an increase over last year’s 1,820 and the first time the local Archdiocese has welcomed more than 2,000 since 2019.

PHOTOS: Rite of Election, A Journey to Easter

Traditionally held on the first Sunday of Lent, the Rites were 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.

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.

At the four parishes, during the Rite of Election, the catechumens are 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 the 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.

During Easter Vigil Masses on Saturday, March 30, at least 2,364 people from parishes across the Archdiocese will enter into the Catholic Church.