Dublin’s largest ever number of Catechumens and Candidates were presented at the Rite of Election in St Mary’s Cathedral on Sunday, February 22. Nearly 130 people who will complete their journey into the Catholic Church at Easter this year attended the ceremony led by Archbishop Dermot Farrell.
They were joined by their sponsors, family and friends and were accompanied by priests and parishioners from their home parishes around the archdiocese. In total, 60 Catechumens preparing for Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist attended the ceremony along with 69 Candidates for confirmation.
The Knockmitten Youth Choir provided music for the ceremony. In his homily, Archbishop Farrell reflected on conversion through the example of St Augustine and St Paul: “Augustine’s is one of the great accounts of conversion. Augustine tells us how he comes to Christ and how he comes to himself,” he said. “Augustine’s conversion mirrors that of St Paul: Paul too was called by God from where he was in his life.”
Similarly to the stories of St Paul and St Augustine, “God has called you in Christ and today we mark a particular moment in your response, and in the Church’s welcome of you,” the archbishop said.
