By Julia Mericle
News Assignment Editor
On Sunday, five St. Bonaventure students, who are members of the Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults (RCIA), will participate in the Rite of Election as they prepare to enter the faith of the Catholic Church. Bishop Malone of the Buffalo Diocese will lead the celebration at the St. Joseph Cathedral in Buffalo.
The students fall under two categories: catechumens and candidates. Catechumens are individuals who have not been previously initiated into a church community, while candidates are those who have been previously baptized in another Christian faith.
Through the Rite of Election, the Catholic Church formally ratifies the catechumens’ readiness for the sacraments of initiation and prepares the candidates’ for Confirmation and Eucharist.
The catechumens are sophomores David Bryant and Courtney Newhouse.
The candidates participating are senior Troy Hillman and sophomores Jessica Laursen and Michael Muffoletto.
Larusen, a journalism and mass communication major, said she did not know about RCIA until this year, but immediately knew she wanted to be a part of it.
“I decided to join RCIA because in the past year and half at Bona’s, I have realized how important my faith is to me,” Laursen said.
Newhouse, a management major, also decided that RCIA was for her.
“I got involved because I wanted to become part of the Church,” Newhouse said. “I wasn’t raised in a very religious household and when I got here I took the steps to correct that.”
During the Bonaventure Easter celebration on April 12 at 7 p.m., catechumens will celebrate the Sacraments of Christian Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist.
Candidates will receive Confirmation and Eucharist, but not Baptism, because it can only be received once.
According to Father Francis Di Spigno, O.F.M., the students began the RCIA process in September and meet every Sunday at 5:30 p.m. before attending 7 p.m. Mass.
“The celebration of the Rite of Election is a very important time in the life of our catechumens and candidates as well as the church as it marks yet another step of our brothers and sisters in their life of faith,” Father Francis said.
Hillman, a theology major, looks forward to the Rite of Election as a major step toward entering the Church. To prepare, Hillman has attended daily Mass often and participated in campus ministry.
“The recent Rite of Acceptance brought tears to my eyes, as I am becoming part of something so much bigger than myself,” Hillman said. “The upcoming event is calling me to a deeper transformation and deeper commitment, and I am overjoyed to be a part of it.”
