March 19, 2025

Close to 200 people to enter the church at the Easter Vigil

REGIONAL
Story and photos by Carolee McGrath

SPRINGFIELD – One-hundred and seventy five people seeking full communion with the Catholic Church gathered with their families at St. Michael’s Cathedral, Sunday, March 16, for the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion. In attendance were 69 catechumens and 106 candidates enrolled in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) and the Rite of Christian Initiation of Children (RCIC.)

They will complete the sacraments of initiation, which include baptism, first Communion and confirmation, during the Easter Vigil at their home parishes, Saturday, April 19.

“So, this day, we dedicate you for service,” said Bishop William D. Byrne in his homily, telling the soon-to-be Catholics that they are soldiers for Christ.

“Each of us must be soldiers for Christ. Our armaments are love and mercy. That’s what truly changes the world in this time when we see so much unkindness, especially in our political world. We need people to step up and bring Christ to a world that’s starving for him,” he said.

 The Rite of Election is for catechumens, who were never baptized. During the ceremony, Bishop Byrne asked them to stand, along with their godparents, asking them if they “wish to enter fully into the life of the church through the sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and the Eucharist.”

Then the catechumens came forward to sign their name in the Book of the Elect. The catechumens are now called “members of the elect.”

“I’ve never been baptized and I always wanted to be baptized,” said Aria Garafolo, a member of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Parish in Springfield. Garafolo is in grade 7 at St. Michael Academy in Springfield.

“Jesus is everything to me,” she said.

Next, in the celebration of the Call to Continuing Conversion, the bishop asked the candidates to stand. Candidates are those who have been baptized Catholic or in another Christian denomination. They too will complete their sacraments of initiation at the Easter vigil.

“For most of my life, I’ve been agnostic. Religion was never a priority to me, it was just the physical things around me, and that led to a lot of bad choices,” said Robert Calise, who is entering the church with his wife Victoria at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Agawam. The couple has four children, including a week-old baby boy. “Thankfully, we were able to find this journey together.

Victoria Calise said she was entangled in witchcraft for years, but found herself on a journey to God.

“I’m not sure if I found Jesus, or he found me, but I’m glad I did either way. I did not feel peace my entire life until I started following the Catholic faith,” she said.

Typically, tens of thousands of people across the United States enter the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil. Due to the pandemic, fewer people had been entering the Catholic Church in the last few years. However, the Diocese of Springfield surpassed pre-COVID number this year.

“This is our Jubilee of Hope and all I keep thinking of is all these pilgrims of hope coming into the church at the Easter vigil. It doesn’t get much better than that,” said Celeste Labbe, the director of the Office of Faith Formation for the diocese.

Labbe said closer to 200 people will enter the church across the diocese. Not all of them were in attendance at Sunday’s ceremony.

A video version of this story will be featured on an upcoming edition of “Real to Reel,” which airs Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. on WWLP-22NEWS.