HOUSTON - Daniel Cardinal DiNardo and Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro, CRS, celebrated the Rite of Election for those preparing to enter the Catholic Church at Easter, when on Saturday, March 30, at least 2,364 people from parishes across the Archdiocese will enter into the Catholic Church.
The 2024 total is an increase over last year’s 1,820 and the first time the local Archdiocese has welcomed more than 2,000 since 2019.
Traditionally held on the first Sunday of Lent, the Rites were celebrated at St. Ignatius Church in Spring, Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church in northwest Houston, St. Maximilian Kolbe in Houston and Mary Queen Catholic Church in Friendswood.
Catechumens are those who will receive Baptism, first holy Communion and Confirmation at the Easter vigil, while candidates are those who have already been baptized and will receive one or both of the other two Sacraments of Initiation.
Photo by James Ramos/Herald Daniel Cardinal DiNardo reads names in a Book of the Elect during the Rite of Election at St. Maximilian Kolbe Parish in Houston Feb. 18. Four Rites of Election were held around the Archdiocese, with at least 2,364 registered to join or enter full communion with the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston.
