Diocese of SLC welcomes catechumens, candidates

Intermountain Catholic

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Catechumens sign the Book of Elect during the Rite of Election. More photos on the Intermountain Catholic Facebook page. IC photo/Marie Mischel

SALT LAKE CITY — Those who will join the Catholic Church this year were welcomed by the Diocese of Salt Lake City in a ceremony that looked forward to Easter while at the same time kept with the solemnity of Lent.

"My dear brothers and sisters, this is a time of great joy in our Church because of you," Bishop John C. Wester said during the Rite of Election of Catechumens and of the Call to Continuing Conversion of Baptized Candidates at the Cathedral of the Madeleine. "This really is a graced moment."

To accommodate all the catechumens and candidates, their godparents, sponsors, family and friends, two ceremonies were held, one on Feb. 25 and the other on Feb. 26. Among those who joined the 325 catechumens and 166 candidates at the ceremonies were Jesuit Father Patrick Reuse, who accompanied his group from Saint Henry Parish in Brigham City; Father Dominic Thuy Dang Ha, pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Kearns; and the Most Rev. Sylvester Ryan, Bishop emeritus of Monterey, Calif., who was in town to present a Lenten retreat at Saint Ambrose Parish in Salt Lake City.

Travel distance and other conflicts kept some from the ceremony, but groups from Christ the King Parish in Cedar City and Saint George Parish in St. George journeyed more than 200 miles to be presented to the bishop.

All the catechumens and candidates have spent the last year forming their faith through education and discernment. The catechumens completed the Rite of Election by signing the Book of Elect at the ceremony, which was then signed by Bishop Wester and returned to the parishes so the community can pray for those who will join the Church at the Easter Vigil.

The candidates also were presented to Bishop Wester. They, too, will join the Church at Easter.

In general, the difference between a catechumen and a candidate is that a candidate already has been baptized while a catechumen has not.

The readings during the ceremony – Genesis 9:8-15, 1 Peter 3:18-22 and Mark 1:12-15 – reveal great theological truths, Bishop Wester said in his remarks.

"And yet in the midst of all this, I wouldn’t want to lose something at the heart of it all, and that is that Jesus is the embodiment of God’s love for us," the bishop said. "This is an incredible mystery. God, who is so complete in himself, God who is perfect, who is so transcendent, so other, who is so powerful, who needs nothing and no one, he creates us and then in this unfathomable expression of love for us, he gives us his only son, who dies on the cross and rises again."

As the catechumens and candidates approach the final weeks of their preparation to receive baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist, Bishop Wester encouraged them to set aside time each day to pray from their heart.

"It’s not something we do out of obligation," he said. "This is a time to be with the one who loves us… In these final days of Lent, I encourage you to cling to Christ. May God guide your steps in these final weeks before Easter… and always remember, you belong to Christ."