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Today is the Second Sunday of Lent. This afternoon our catechumens and candidates will be going to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington for the Rite of Election. A catechumen is someone preparing to receive all the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and the Holy Eucharist) at the Easter Vigil. The candidate is someone who has already been baptized but is preparing to receive the other Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. If the Candidate was not baptized in the Catholic Church, he or she will be received into the Catholic Church just before receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation at the Easter Vigil.

As I mentioned in my column last week, Robert Cardinal McElroy has met with over four hundred lay leaders from our parishes over the last year to get their input on establishing some pastoral goals for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington for the next five years. At the Priest Convocation that Fr. G. and I attended in November 2025, the priests at the convocation were asked to formulate six goals for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington based on the input from the four hundred or so lay leaders.

Over the past year Robert Cardinal McElroy has met with over four hundred lay leaders from our parishes to get their input on some pastoral goals for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington for the next five years. At the Priest Convocation that Fr. G. and I attended in November 2025, the priests at the convocation were asked to formulate six goals for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington based on the input from the four hundred or so lay leaders.

I first came to realize that there were different rites in the Catholic Church through the help of my religion teacher in the eighth grade, Sister M. Jane Frances, R.S.M. Let me explain what I mean by the word “rite” in this context: the diverse liturgical traditions in which the one catholic and apostolic faith has come to be expressed and celebrated in various cultures and lands. For more on this you check the Glossary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.