MEDIA CONTACT:
Please contact any of the parishes listed below.
For general questions, contact Jeanette DeMelo, Director of Communications, Archdiocese of Denver
303-715-3230 or jeanette.demelo@archden.org
April 6, 2012
Easter Vigil service on Saturday marks entry of thousands
into Catholic Church
Converts anxiously await God’s “giant forgiveness” in Baptism
|
|
As soon as the sun sets this Saturday night, Catholics will join Christians around the world in celebrating the Easter Vigil, which commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.
It is during this special celebration that Catholic churches throughout the world welcome new members into the 2,000-year-old faith. In the Archdiocese of Denver, an estimated total of 1,200 people – adults, teens and children – will enter the Catholic Church at their local parish.
Among them is Wade Alberty, 48, of Foxfield, Colo., who will join the Catholic Church at Our Lady of Loreto Parish, along with more than 60 fellow candidates and catechumens. He says the Catholic faith has taught him how to forgive.
“I had a lot of anger toward one of my children,” he explains. “And I got to a point where I really needed to forgive her, to be free of the burden of my anger. I figured the best way for me to learn to forgive her was to realize how Jesus forgives me, for everything.”
Shortly thereafter, friends connected Alberty to Our Lady of Loreto Church, where he began the RCIA* process.
“I’m looking forward to being baptized [this weekend] because that’s like the giant forgiveness. From there I get a fresh start.”
Beyond experiencing forgiveness for himself and his daughter, Alberty has brought the joy of forgiveness to his 90-year old father, Frederick Alberty, who was recently declared terminally ill in the hospital.
“He was very angry with God,” Alberty explains, “but he was also very scared of death.”
“When I mentioned to him that my entire RCIA family was praying for him, and that the priest had offered to baptize him, he surprisingly agreed. Now, he knows his destination is Heaven.”
*RCIA Process: All converts to the Catholic Church participate in the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), a process of conversion and study in the Catholic faith for catechumens and candidates coming into full Communion with the Church. Catechumens, who have never been baptized, will receive baptism, confirmation and First Eucharist at this Holy Saturday Easter Vigil. Candidates who have already been baptized in another Christian tradition will enter the Church through a profession of faith and reception of Confirmation and Eucharist.
Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception (Denver)
1530 Logan St., Denver, CO 80203
Media Contact: Mary Ellen Lederman at (303) 831-7010
7:30 p.m., Saturday, April 7
Easter Vigil Mass with Bishop Conley
Most Rev. James D. Conley, S.T.L., apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Denver, will celebrate the Easter Vigil Mass. The ceremony begins outside with the lighting of the Easter Candle, followed by an elaborate procession into the cathedral.
Our Lady of Loreto (Foxfield)
18000 E. Arapahoe Rd., Foxfield, 80016 (www.OurLadyofLoreto.org)
Media Contact: Shirley McDermott at smcdermott@ourladyofloreto.org
8:00 p.m., Holy Saturday, April 7
Easter Vigil Mass with Bishop Conley
A total of 62 people will enter the Catholic Church during this liturgy.
Easter Sunday, April 8
Easter Sunday Masses
5:00 a.m., 7:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 11:00 a.m.
###
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||