A sponsor places her hand on the shoulder of a catechumen during last year’s Rite of Election.At Easter Vigil Masses in parishes throughout the Diocese of Harrisburg next month, 265 individuals will be welcomed into the Catholic Church as they receive the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation and Holy Eucharist.
The number is a significant increase over recent years; the Diocese received nearly 150 catechumens into the Church last year and 135 in 2024.
Catechumens are individuals who have not yet been baptized and who will receive the Sacraments of Initiation at Easter after a period of formation, study and reflection.
Traditionally, the Diocese celebrates and recognizes these catechumens during the Rite of Election on the first Sunday of Lent. The Church recognizes the maturing conversion and growth of commitment among the catechumens during the rite; this year’s celebration was canceled, however, due to a snowstorm over the region.
The preparedness of the catechumens to make lifelong commitments as disciples of Christ is a reminder to the Catholic community that the Holy Spirit is very much alive and at work in the Church.
Bishop Timothy Senior places his hand over the names of the elect at the Rite of Election in 2025.Ten parishes have ten or more catechumens this year. They are: Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph in York, St. Joseph in Mechanicsburg, St. John the Baptist in New Freedom, San Juan Bautista in Lancaster, Our Mother of Perpetual Help in Ephrata, Corpus Christi in Chambersburg, St. Francis Xavier in Gettysburg and St. Catherine Labouré and St. Francis of Assisi in Harrisburg.
In addition to the 265 catechumens, the Diocese also has a number of candidates coming into full communion with the Church this year. Candidates are those individuals who have been baptized in the Christian faith and are seeking the Sacraments of Confirmation and Holy Eucharist.
‘Fully Buying In’
Evan Alendar is one of the Diocese’s newest Catholics, having received the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Holy Eucharist and Confirmation on Feb. 22.
As a candidate in the OCIA [Order of Christian Initiation of Adults] program at Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish in Middletown, the Hershey High School and Loyola University Maryland graduate said he felt there was always something God was trying to show him throughout his life.
Seven Sorrows parishioner Evan Alendar is pictured with his sponsor and girlfriend Claire Ryland after receiving the Sacraments of Reconciliation, Holy Eucharist and Confirmation.Baptized in the Episcopalian church, Alendar was raised in a non-religious household but “always grappled with the idea of there being some kind of high power,” he said.
He explored those ideas further in high school at the invitation of several Catholic and non-Catholic Christian friends who encouraged him to attend youth group events with them.
“At first, I’d go along for the social aspect of it at that age,” he said. “But the more I started going to those things, the more I started to realize that regardless of what I thought about a higher power, I was receiving good moral teaching and meeting good people, so I kept showing up.”
At Loyola, he made connections with new Catholic friends: his cross-country and track teammates who invited him to Mass and Catholic Campus Ministry activities.
“There were very few Sundays that I didn’t go to Mass while I was in college. My faith really grew the most on campus. I owe a lot to my Jesuit education to opening me to a line of thinking about Catholic teaching and having a strong faith,” Alendar said.
His journey into the Church was a gradual process, one that was filled with consistent messages, unwavering witness and the no-pressure invitation of friends.
“When you break it down, evangelization is really about your actions. The way you live your life can change someone else’s life. Extending an invitation, extending a hand and offering a welcoming attitude can alter someone’s life for the better. That’s what my friends were doing for me in high school and college,” he said. “There was never any pressure on me to accept their beliefs or join the Church. It was a slow nurture, and I’ll always be grateful for that perspective. Extending an invitation to others is just about taking an interest in them.”
The invitation and exploration continued throughout the OCIA process at Seven Sorrows.
Father Michael Reid, pastor of St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Hanover, presents the names of his parish’s catechumens to Bishop Timothy Senior at the Rite of Election last year.“In those classes, I came to realize there was always something God was trying to show me. Every time something good or bad happened in my life, I took it as a way for my faith to grow even stronger, and I really started to lean into the good,” he said.
“My decision to ultimately join the Church wasn’t about checking a box, it was about fully aligning everything in my life and fully buying into it,” he said.
Last month, he received the sacraments from Father Timothy Sahd, pastor of Seven Sorrows, in front of a congregation that included his sponsor and girlfriend Claire Ryland, and family members and friends from neighboring cities and states.
“No matter your journey or how rocky your path may be, the Church welcomes you and helps you to get there one way or another,” Alendar said. “The day I received my sacraments, I had an overwhelming sense of love and the culmination of one step in a journey that is just beginning.”
(2025 Rite of Election photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness.)
By Jen Reed, The Catholic Witness
