In a record for the Diocese of Richmond, 900 people will be baptised, receive the Eucharist, and be confirmed into the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil Masses on 4 April.
The diocesan Office of Christian Formation has kept data on the number of catechumens joining the church since 2015, when there were 242 newly baptised Catholics.
A new high has been achieved in each of the past four years, culminating with 650 baptisms last year. This year’s 38 per cent spike mirrors similar signs of Catholic revival across the nation and around the globe.
“People are looking for something that is true,” said Chris Emsley, lead catechist at St Stephen, Martyr Church in Chesapeake, “and the church has been true for 2,000 years.”
“People are hungry for the Lord,” said Rose Scott, catechist at Holy Rosary Church in Richmond. One notable characteristic of this class of catechumens is how young many of them are.
Catechumens receive the sacraments of initiation – baptism, first Communion and confirmation. Candidates are those already baptised who are entering full communion with the church at Easter and will receive their first Communion and/or confirmation. The Richmond Diocese has several hundred candidates this year.
