RALEIGH – A group photo of 1,118 people is no small feat. It helps to have a cathedral sanctuary. It also helps to have one important reason for the gathering. Bishop Luis Rafael Zarama welcomed that group of 559 catechumens and 559 sponsors, plus their 57 delegates and catechists, to Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in March for the Rite of Election.
For Lydia Tatum, who was present both as a mom of two coming into full communion with the Church and as a parish director of Religious Education, it was beautiful to see how there was a place for everyone.
The rite is an important step in a process whereby unbaptized people prepare for full initiation into the Catholic faith. Part of the rite includes the catechumens publicly declaring their intention and writing their name in what’s known as a Book of the Elect.
“The Rite of Election has a beautiful simplicity … that gracefully welcomes those who have been preparing, discerning and walking with the Lord,” said Tatum.
Tatum said her parish, St. Luke the Evangelist in Raleigh, sent five catechumen (who were previously unbaptized) and their sponsors for the rite at the cathedral. Also during that same Mass, she said, 18 St. Luke candidates (those who were previously baptized) for full communion with the Church were recognized and prayed for as they began their final period of preparation for sacraments.
St. Luke is part of the Raleigh Deanery, which sent 156 catechumens to the Rite of Election. All eight deaneries, or geographical areas of the diocese, were represented.
All five of St. Luke’s elect were baptized and confirmed during the parish’s Easter Vigil Mass April 19 and received the Eucharist for the first time. Additional candidates received the sacraments of confirmation and the Eucharist. It was a similar occurrence at parishes throughout the diocese.
“Easter Vigil at St. Luke’s required particular planning and coordination this year, as our sanctuary is small and our candidate class … was quite large – wrapping the altar and tabernacle from the Marian transept to the St. Joseph transept,” said Tatum. “I loved the visual representation once everyone was in place. The entirety of the Holy Family and the brothers and sisters of St. Luke’s welcoming these newest members … it was truly a cosmic embrace.”
Tatum said that the consolations of walking people into the Church do not end at midnight with the vigil. “I have already found such joy and blessing in the weeks of Easter when I stand behind a new Catholic in the line for confession or when I see my daughters and the others joyfully receiving Jesus again and again in the Eucharist. It is an incredible gift to see the answers to our prayers for the salvation of souls and the reunion of all Christians coming to fruition right before our eyes and right in our own parishes. God is moving always. We must pray simply for eyes to see,” she added.
Confirmations are ongoing throughout the diocese. Bishop Luis recently visited Swansboro, Hampstead and Castle Hayne for celebrations of Mass and the sacrament of confirmation.
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