The diocese’s annual Rite of Election was held this year at two locations in Columbus, Columbus Our Lady of Guadalupe, Star of the New Evangelization Shrine at the former Holy Name Church and at the St. Thomas More Newman Center adjacent to Ohio State University.
The diocese’s Department of Evangelization estimated that 900 people attended the two Rites, which included Masses with Bishop Earl Fernandes as the principal celebrant. There were 300 catechumens, including 225 at the Newman Center and 75 at Our Lady of Guadalupe, Star of the New Evangelization Parish.
Catechumens, who varied in age from young people to adults, had their names entered into the Book of the Elect by a representative of their respective parish. The catechumens are preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation, baptism, confirmation and Holy Communion in the Catholic Church on Holy Saturday during Easter Vigil Masses on April 19.
After their names were entered into the book during the Rite of Election, the catechumens were declared by the bishop to be the elect. Each of the elect are accompanied a sponsor who provides support while progressing through the Order of Christian Initiation for Adults instructional formation process.
“You have been called here precisely because of your hope that the promise of forgiveness and, with it, salvation are real,” Bishop Fernandes said in his homily at St. Thomas More Newman Center. “But who has called you? In the first place, it is God who has called you. It is not you who chose me, but I who chose you. It is also the Church who calls you, manifesting your “election” by God in and through the Church, not only through the bishop, but also through your sponsors who testify on your behalf.
“God calls you to belong to Him through baptism, and we, the Church, the family of God, call you to belong to our family. You are called and chosen – you are elected, and this election, there are only winners!
“Sometimes the Elect are also called ‘co-petitioners’ because together they strive or petition to receive the sacraments of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit. They are also called the ‘enlightened’ because Baptism is itself called Enlightenment.
“But to be called and chosen is also to be sent. You will eventually be sent into the world to make new disciples, and the preparation for that mission begins today with an intense commitment to take Lent seriously as the celebration of the Paschal Mystery approaches.”
The catechumens in attendance came from 46 parishes representing 40 with English and six with Spanish as the primary language.
Among the parishes were: Lancaster Basilica of St. Mary of the Assumption, Newark Blessed Sacrament Church, Columbus Christ the King, Johnstown Church of the Ascension, Columbus Holy Spirit, Canal Winchester Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Marysville Our Lady of Lourdes, Grove City Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Columbus Our Lady of Victory, Chillicothe Our Lady Queen of the Apostles, Kenton-Ada Our Lady the Immaculate Conception, West Jefferson Ss. Simon & Jude, Columbus St. Agatha, Columbus St. Andrew, Lancaster St. Bernadette, Hilliard St. Brendan the Navigator, Dublin St. Brigid of Kildare, Washington Court House St. Colman of Cloyne, Granville St. Edward the Confessor, Newark St. Francis de Sales, Columbus St. Francis of Assisi, Columbus St. James the Less, Sunbury St. John Neumann, Portsmouth St. John Paul II Scioto Catholic, Columbus St. Joseph Cathedral, Worthington St. Michael, Circleville St. Joseph, Columbus St. Josephine Bakhita, Columbus St. Margaret of Cortona, Columbus St. Mary German Village, Columbus St. Mary Magdalene, Marion St. Mary, Cardington Sacred Hearts, Gahanna St. Matthew, Zanesville St. Nicholas, Zanesville St. Thomas Aquinas, Columbus St. Patrick, London St. Patrick, Westerville St. Paul the Apostle, Columbus St. Peter-Powell St. Joan of Arc, Reynoldsburg St. Pius X and Columbus St. Thomas More Newman Center.
Spanish-speaking catechumens came from Our Lady of Guadalupe, Star of the New Evangelization Shrine; Columbus St. Thomas the Apostle; Columbus St. Agnes; Columbus St. James the Less; St. Peter-St. Joan of Arc and Columbus St. Stephen the Martyr.
“My dear friends, as your Bishop, I want to say, along with your sponsors, how proud we are of you who have made this journey, some at great personal cost,” Bishop Fernandes said. “We pledge to you our prayers and support as you approach the Easter mysteries, and we promise you that we will not abandon you.”
Also entering the Church at the Easter Vigil will be individuals who are called candidates. Already baptized, the candidates will receive the sacrament of confirmation and their First Holy Communion on Holy Saturday.