Father Vic Subb stands with new parishioners and their families.
At Easter Vigils around the country, more than 37,000 people joined the Catholic Church, an increase of nearly 7,000 over 2018 according to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. The bishops’ report cites data from 85 of the nearly 200 dioceses in the country.
Two groups of people are initiated into the Church at the Easter Vigil. Catechumens are those who had never been baptized. Candidates are those who were baptized in another Christian tradition, but are received fully into the Catholic faith.
In Glenmary’s 10 mission parishes, 19 people entered the Church at the Easter Vigil.
The national numbers include reports from large archdioceses, like Los Angeles, which welcomed nearly 2,500, and smaller mission dioceses like the Diocese of Savannah, Ga., home to two Glenmary missions, which welcomed 311.
Other dioceses where Glenmary serves—Nashville, Knoxville, and Raleigh—were not included in the bishops’ report.
This story first appeared in the Summer 2019 Glenmary Challenge magazine.