CV NEWS FEED // The Archdiocese of Detroit’s largest class of catechumens and candidates since 2017 is preparing to enter the Church this Easter.
Four hundred catechumens will be baptized and receive the sacraments of Confirmation and First Communion alongside 577 candidates who are baptized Christians entering full communion with the Church, the Detroit Catholic reported.
On March 8 and 9 at Detroit’s Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament, the catechumens participated in the Rite of Election, and the candidates participated in the Call to Continuing Conversion ceremonies.
At the Rite of Election ceremonies, the presiding bishop asked the class to come forward and write their names in the Book of the Elect. The bishop then asked the catechumens to confirm their desire to fully enter into the church.
“As we begin this season of Lent, it is with great joy we come here to this cathedral as people of faith, recognizing that Christ is Lord,” Detroit auxiliary Bishop Arturo Cepeda, said during the homily of one of the March 8 ceremonies, according to the Detroit Catholic. “That these candidates and catechumens are presenting themselves to be claimed by Christ.”
The bishop later encouraged the catechumens to trust in God as they prepare for Easter, noting that the Lord is with them amid temptations they may face in the upcoming weeks.
“When Jesus went into the wilderness to pray and fast for 40 days, he was not alone,” Bishop Cepeda said, according to the Detroit Catholic. “The spirit of God was with him in the desert.”