More than 200 people presented themselves at the ‘Rite of Election’ on March 11 at St Mary’s Cathedral as they prepared to take their places as family members of the Catholic Church.
The Rite of Election was originally written for catechumens (the unbaptised). It has been expanded since today’s reality embraces those who are ‘coming home’ to the Catholic faith from Christian denominations with whom the Catholic community has a reciprocal understanding of baptism.
For this reason, the Catholic community in the Archdiocese of Perth now uses the fuller term of ‘Rite of Election of Catechumens and Formal Recognition of Candidates’.
At the Rite of Election, upon the testimony of sponsors and catechists and the catechumens’ affirmation of their intention to join the Church, the Church makes its “election” of these catechumens to receive the Sacraments of Initiation.
This happened in the Archdiocese of Perth in the presence of the Archbishop of Perth Timothy Costelloe SDB, Auxiliary
Bishop Don Sproxton, Vicar General Fr Peter Whiteley and the Dean of the Cathedral, Mgr Michael Keating.
The names of those presenting themselves at this Rite were inscribed into the Book of the Elect at the Cathedral as a pledge of their fidelity. There has been a continual rise over the years of people asking to be received into the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Perth.
In 1994, nearly 100 were received into the Church. Twenty years later, this number has more than doubled with figures generally increasing from year to year.