Nearly 500 Enter Catholic Church at Easter

Transcription

1 Immediate Release March 25, 2010 Contact: Joe Aponick (717) x210 Nearly 500 Enter Catholic Church at Easter This Easter nearly 500 people from the Diocese of Harrisburg will enter the Catholic Church. This will take place across 70 different parishes during the Easter Vigil Service which is held on Saturday, April 3 at midnight in the parishes. This is the traditional time for those wishing to become Catholic to enter the Church and become members.. The Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) is the process by which adults become members of the Catholic Church. The process, which typically takes several months, includes prayer and reflection, study of the Catholic faith and way of life, and special rites and rituals along the way. A significant milestone in their Christian initiation process took place during two ceremonies at St. Patrick Cathedral in Harrisburg Feb. 21, as they came together for the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. Their names were recorded in the Book of the Elect, which was signed by Diocesan Administrator, Father Chester Snyder as a witness to the catechumens desire to enter the Church. In his homily, Father Snyder recognized the many and varied journeys that the catechumens and candidates have taken toward entering the Church. Some of you come to this evening having been raised without a faith tradition or church, Father Snyder remarked. At this point in your life you have discovered the truth expressed so well and so succinctly by the great St. Augustine: Our hearts are restless until they rest in you, O Lord. And you have found that your heart is able to rest in the loving hands of Jesus as he is lived in the tradition of the Catholic Church. We are happy that you are here. Some of you have been raised in Christian churches of another denomination with a faith passed on to you by loving parents, he said. We honor your parents and rejoice in their faithfulness. And we admire your willingness to continue searching along a path that has led you to the doors of the Catholic community. We are happy that you are here. Some of you have been influenced by the sacramental lives of your children, he added. Your desire to share faith as a family has prompted you to come and see what our Church is all about. And having opened your minds and hearts to the movement of the Holy Spirit, you have found a faith home among us. We are happy that you are here. Some of you, my young friends, have been brought to this moment by the loving guidance of your parents and grandparents, family members and friends. They want you, during

2 these exciting days of your young lives, to have a strong foundation of faith and the supportive community of the Church that you may know a life that is filled with the meaning and promise, with the joy and hope that God alone can offer, he said. We are very happy that you are here. Father Snyder told the catechumens and candidates that The Church you will enter is the Bride of Christ, beloved by Him with a love that is faithful, a love that never ends. We are members of that Church not because we are perfect, because we are so good. We are members of the Church because God is so good, so patient, so caring, so loving that he bids us to live together in him despite our unworthiness. Below is a list of parishes organized by geographic area or deanery and the number of new Catholics that will be joining the Church at the Easter Vigil service celebrated at the parishes. Parish Town Parish Total Adams Deanery Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus Hanover 6 BVM New Oxford 2 Immaculate Heart of Mary Abbotstown 6 Saint Aloysius Littlestown 2 Saint Francis Xavier Gettysburg 6 Saint Joseph Hanover 13 Saint Joseph the Worker Bonneauville 1 Saint Vincent de Paul Hanover 8 Cumberland/Perry Deanery Good Shepherd Camp Hill 9 Our Lady of Lourdes Enola 6 Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Mechanicsburg 11 Saint Joseph Mechanicsburg 17 Saint Katharine Drexel Mechanicsburg 11 Saint Patrick Carlisle 11 Saint Theresa of the Infant Jesus New Cumberland 11 Dauphin Deanery Holy Name of Jesus Harrisburg 15

3 Prince of Peace Steelton 7 Sacred Heart of Jesus Lewistown 6 Saint Catherine Laboure Harrisburg 15 Saint Francis of Assisi Harrisburg 9 Saint Jude Mifflintown 3 Saint Margaret Mary Harrisburg 10 Saint Patrick Cathedral Harrisburg 14 Seven Sorrows of the BVM Middletown 13 Franklin Deanery Corpus Christi Chambersburg 15 BVM Fairfield 11 Our Lady of the Visitation Shippensburg 1 Saint Andrew the Apostle Waynesboro 17 Saint Rita Blue Ridge 5 Lebanon Deanery Assumption of the BVM Lebanon 10 Holy Spirit Palmyra 3 Sacred Heart of Jesus Cornwall 2 Saint Benedict the Abbot Lebanon 5 Saint Joan of Arc Hershey 1 Saint Paul the Apostle Annville 7 Northern Lancaster Deanery Holy Trinity Columbia 5 Our Lady of Lourdes New Holland 2 Our Mother of Perpetual Help Ephrata 6 Saint James Lititz 4 Saint Peter Columbia 5 Saint Peter Elizabethtown 4

4 Northern Deanery Christ the King Benton 1 Sacred Heart of Jesus Lewisburg 12 Saint Columba Bloomsburg 2 Saint Joseph Danville 5 Saint Joseph Milton 4 Saint Monica Sunbury 3 Saint Pius X Selingsgrove 10 Northumberland Deanery Divine Redeemer Mount Carmel 3 Mother Cabrini Shamokin 1 Our Lady Help of Christians Lykens 1 Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Elysburg 1 Sacred Heart of Jesus Mission Williamstown 3 South Lancaster Deanery Assumption of the BVM Lancaster 12 Sacred Heart of Jesus Lancaster 5 Saint Anne Lancaster 1 Saint Anthony of Padua Lancaster 8 Saint Catherine of Siena Quarryville 2 Saint John Neumann Lancaster 6 Saint Joseph Lancaster 7 Saint Leo the Great Lancaster 11 Saint Philip the Apostle Millersville 4 San Juan Bautista Lancaster 13 York Deanery Holy Infant York Haven 3 BVM York 1 Saint John the Baptist New Freedom 5

5 Saint Joseph Dallastown 13 Saint Joseph York 12 Saint Patrick York 6 Saint Rose of Lima York 13