Rite of Election at Westminster Cathedral

"These are good times to be a Christian," Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor told catechumens and candidates, with their sponsors and godparents, at the Rite of Election in Westminster Cathedral on Sunday afternoon. "How happy we are to welcome you" he said. "This is a time of great joy for you and for us." Speaking of the many different reasons people had come to choose to become Catholic, the Cardinal said: "In some mysterious way God has touched you, His spirit has been moving among you." He said: "We who are members of the holy Catholic Church know we are part of the Body of Christ, here, alive, ever new. And you have been chosen to join that living tradition." The Cardinal said that the new members would be bringing to their communities a new and fresh spirit of witness to Christ. More than 800 catechumens and candidates from parishes throughout Westminster diocese have been taking part in RCIA courses in their parishes. Their final final sacraments of initiation, Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist will be celebrated at the Easter vigil.