Ceremony of Election Brings Shortly-To-Be Catholics Nearer to Baptism

SUNSET PARK — Nataly Castillo’s journey toward Catholicism was a wander in the park — virtually.

A stroll by way of Prospect Park landed her in Windsor Terrace, where by she wandered into Holy Title of Jesus Church and nervously inquired about becoming a member of the faith.

“I straight away felt welcomed,” stated Castillo, a 19-calendar year-aged sophomore at Brooklyn Faculty studying electronic marketing and web design. She is a person of the hundreds of individuals in the Diocese of Brooklyn who will be baptized and verified at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday at their regional church buildings.

Castillo took a significant step in her journey by using section in the Ceremony of Election on Sunday, Feb. 26 — a time-honored custom that usually takes spot annually on the to start with Sunday of Lent and signifies the fact that these who are to be baptized — referred to as catechumens — have been chosen, or elected, by the Church. 

Catechumens are persons who have never ever been baptized right before in any faith and are building a conscious decision to sign up for the Catholic faith.

The Ceremony of Election also signals the formal improve in standing for the participants who go from staying catechumens to becoming elected.

There have been two Ceremony of Election products and services on Sunday — at the Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Aid (OLPH) in Sunset Park in Brooklyn and the Immaculate Conception Heart in Douglaston, Queens. Bishop Robert Brennan presided above each.

“Today is a quite joyous celebration,” Bishop Brennan reported at the Brooklyn assistance. “The family members is increasing.”

There had been 164 catechumens in Brooklyn and 217 in Queens this yr — for a total of 381, in accordance to the Secretariat for Evangelization and Catechesis. The Brooklyn catechumens come from 36 distinct parishes. Thirty-nine Queens parishes had catechumens.

At the rear of the figures, every catechumen had a individual tale of religion. 

Castillo’s journey commenced all through the pandemic. “I was heading via a tricky time with a great deal of nervousness and a great deal of panic,” she remembered.

She grew up in Prospect-Lefferts Gardens with Catholic dad and mom but in no way joined the religion. “It was normally in the back again of my thoughts, but I under no circumstances did just about anything about it. It seemed frustrating to even test,” she explained.

The pandemic hit when she was a junior at Medgar Evers University Preparatory School, and she located making ready for graduation and implementing for faculties stressful. “My mother noticed me struggling and explained to me, ‘Try going to church. Just test,’ ” she stated.

One particular working day, she took a wander by means of Prospect Park to tranquil herself down. She emerged from the park and was strolling together Prospect Park West when she looked up and observed Holy Title of Jesus Church. She now believes it was no accident that she wound up standing in entrance of the church that working day. 

She reveled in her religion formation studies  — obtaining existence lessons and spiritual instruction. “It seemed like a great way to open up myself up to a little something new. And it had a way of opening up my heart and head,” she described.

The probability to worship openly and receive the Holy Eucharist in public is a thing Cunguang Zheng, a 45-calendar year-old development worker from Sunset Park, explained he will generally value.

Zheng expended most of his lifestyle in China and came to the U.S. a couple of many years back.

Simply because China is a communist nation with a federal government that does not permit spiritual independence, Zheng and his family attended an underground church, usually fearful of being detected. “It was really tricky,” he said by means of an interpreter.

When he came to the U.S., he made a decision he wanted to turn out to be a Catholic “because I was free of charge to do so.” He began using religion development classes at OLPH in Sunset Park and enjoyed receiving to know much more about the Church.

“I will be really, very content to be baptized. I have waited a extended time for it,” he mentioned.

It was a family members tragedy that bounce-commenced Jennifer Mejia’s path to the Church. Her mother, Araceli Zamora, died of cardiac arrest on Aug. 22, 2022. “She was by no means sick,” Mejia mentioned, conveying the shock she and her two more youthful brothers felt.

Mejia, who life in Corona and is a rapidly-meals restaurant cashier, can take treatment of her siblings, serving as a surrogate mom to them. 

Though her mom was under no circumstances religious all through her life span, “I really feel like God and my mom are operating on me from heaven,” Mejia stated.

With encouragement from a relative, she started out courses at Our Girl of Sorrows Church in Corona. “It was a bit hard at initially,” she recalled. “But I designed it, and now I’m prepared to grow to be a Catholic.”

Father Joseph Gibino, vicar for evangelization and catechesis for the diocese, claimed the Ceremony of Election “is really important since it is a general public welcome from the Church to all those who are to be baptized.”

In addition to catechumens, the church also welcomes new customers, identified as candidates. 

Unlike catechumens, candidates have beforehand been baptized into other Christian faiths. But now they wish to turn out to be Catholic. 

Candidates will choose their subsequent phase at a company known as the Simply call to Continuing Conversion, which will take place on Sunday, March 5.