L.A. Archdiocese welcomes record 2,786 new Catholics this Easter

This Easter, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles has welcomed 2,786 new Catholics marking the largest group baptized over the Easter weekend in a decade. The new Catholics were welcomed by Archbishop José H. Gomez during the Easter Vigil Mass last night. Livestream of the Mass is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWY32skeJZo.

“This Easter season, I have been reflecting on the virtue of hope, as we celebrate the Jubilee Year of Hope declared by Pope Francis. The great hope that we all share is to know that our lives matter, that we make a difference, that there is a reason and purpose for our lives, and that our sufferings and hardships are not all for nothing,” said Archbishop Gomez. “We all hope for a love that is pure and true, a love that transcends this mortal life, a love that will last forever. And we all hope that death is not the end, that this earthly life is not all there is. These are hopes that can be found in every human heart, in every time and place. Easter is God’s answer to everything that we hope for.”

The Archdiocese welcomed 2,786 new members who have never been baptized – also known as catechumens – at Easter Vigil Masses this year, a 66% increase since 2015 when the total was 1,671. An additional 2,801 candidates, or adults, children and young people who mostly belonged to other denominations received the sacrament of confirmation and the Eucharist during the Easter season – which is an 84% increase from last year when 1,521 entered into full communion.

“All of history has been leading to the threshold of this empty tomb. All of history, and your life and my life, too,” said Archbishop Gomez during the Easter Vigil homily. “My dear elect and candidates, I want to tell you to: since the day you were born, God has been waiting for this night. In your lives, each of you has followed your own path, and it has all been for a reason.”

While people can become Catholic at any time of the year, Easter is a particularly appropriate season for adult catechumens to be baptized and for already-baptized Christians to be received into full communion with the Catholic Church. Participants in parishes of the Archdiocese, comprised by the counties of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura, go through a lengthy process of conversion and deepening of their faith that could last a year or more.

“By this hope we know that whatever happens in our lives, whatever sufferings we are asked to bear, whatever dark valleys we are called to walk, Jesus goes with us, leading and guiding us,” said Archbishop Gomez. “And until then, Jesus is giving us a mission. The Lord is calling us to announce to all the world that his tomb is empty, that he is not here, but he has been raised!”

The feast of the Resurrection of Christ is the oldest and most important Christian celebration. Christians believe that, by rising from the dead, Jesus demonstrated his power over sin and death, manifesting his divinity as the Son of God. According to the Christian Scriptures, Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah who offered his life for the sins of the world as was prophesied in the Hebrew Scripture.

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