TOLEDO DIOCESE WELCOMES 583 NEW MEMBERS INTO CATHOLIC CHURCH

March 19, 2008 – Toledo, OH – In Rite of Election ceremonies on February 10^th the Diocese of Toledo welcomed 583 people from across the 19 county diocese as new members of the Catholic Church in separate ceremonies at Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral, and at St. Michael Parish in Findlay.

The number of Catechumens totaled 207. A Catechumen is an unbaptized person who is fully initiated into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, receiving the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Eucharist.

The number of Candidates totaled 276. A candidate is a person who has been baptized in another Christian faith. The 276 Candidates will receive the sacraments of initiation, Eucharist and confirmation, and will be received into full communion of the Catholic Church.

In addition to the 276 Candidates, 100 Catholic Candidates will re-affirm their profession of faith at their respective parishes at this year’s Easter Vigil. A Catholic Candidate was baptized as Catholic and will complete their reception into the church.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) reports that tens of thousands of Americans of every age and from every walk of life will join the Catholic Church on Holy Saturday through the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA). RCIA is an ancient rite that was reinstituted in the church following the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965). It is the usual means for adults to come into the Church, and according to the latest annual figures from the Official Catholic Directory, almost 64,500 adults were baptized in the church in the United States last year, and almost 93,000 came into full communion.

The number of Candidates and Catechumens encourages diocesan Episcopal Vicar Father Michael Billian. “What a powerful sign for those of us who have been lifetime members of the church to see so many people respond to God’s call to join us in the Roman Catholic Communion. We may think from the inside of our Catholic family that we are struggling over one issue or another, but this hopeful sign of strong numbers reminds us that God is still in charge of His church.”

The Diocese of Toledo, established April 15, 1910 encompasses 8222 square miles in a mixture of urban and rural areas that spans 19 counties across Northwest Ohio, serving 306,532 Catholics. The diocese includes Allen, Crawford, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hancock, Henry, Huron, Lucas, Ottawa, Paulding, Putnam, Richland, Sandusky, Seneca, Van Wert, Williams, Wood and Wyandot counties.

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