Rite of Election

On the First Sunday of Lent, 21 February, Catholic cathedrals across the World were filled with large, expectant and, possibly, slightly apprehensive congregations. They were about to take part in a very special celebration: The Rite of Election.

The Rite of Election is part of the R.C.I.A. (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) process. People who want to become Catholics, have already spent some time preparing and studying our faith in their own parishes. Now they are brought by their parish priests, their sponsors and their catechists to meet the Bishop and to express publicly their intention to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church. In recognition of their commitment their names are enrolled in the Book of the Elect.

This year, at our Cathedral of St. Barnabas in Nottingham, 173 people from parishes across the diocese came to make that commitment. One of them was from St. Mary’s, Grantham. Dawn Binks, together with Father Anthony, her sponsor Louise Taylor and several members of her family took part in the celebration. Dawn admits to having been slightly worried, at first, about what to expect but ultimately found the whole experience very uplifting. She was particularly heartened to see so many others taking the same step forward as herself.

Returning to the parish, Dawn will now complete the RCIA programme and hopefully, along with Clare Cluse who celebrated the Rite of Election last year, will be received into the Church at the Easter Vigil on April 3^rd.

The RCIA programme has been running in the Diocese for 25 years but is a relatively recent addition to our parish – this is our fifth year. Its significance for the Church as a whole cannot be underestimated. Across the country over 2,000 candidates were enrolled this year, and it is both gratifying and humbling to realise that the Church still appeals in an increasingly secular society.

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