This evening, during the Solemn Vigil of the Resurrection of our Lord at St John’s Co-Cathedral, Archbishop Charles Jude Scicluna will administer the Sacraments of Christian Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion) to twelve catechumens, that is, adults who have chosen Christian life.
The twelve adults, who through these sacraments will become new members of the Catholic Church this evening, are from Malta, China, Turkey, Latvia, England, France, Nepal and Albania.
During Lent, the catechumens met Archbishop Scicluna in preparation for this important moment in their lives. One of them, Freyr, who was born in the United Kingdom, was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness but stopped attending meetings at the age of twelve. Freyr first became interested in the Catholic Church around the time when St Pope John Paul II passed away. Two years later, he spoke to his local priest about the process of conversion and was challenged to explain the reason why he wanted to become a Catholic. The priest explained that Freyr should know and understand his own faith before converting. Freyr is grateful to have had this conversation and spent the following 16 years reflecting on what faith means to him. The call to convert to Catholicism became much stronger after Freyr moved to Malta and on Easter Sunday last year, he felt inspired to finally put into words the reason why he wanted to convert and applied to join the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) Programme.
The celebration of the Easter Vigil starts at 8:00pm and includes: the blessing of the fire on the parvis of St John’s Co-Cathedral, followed by the Easter Proclamation; readings from Holy Scripture and the singing of the Gloria; the blessing of the water, that is, when the Paschal Candle lit from the fire blessed on the parvis is plunged into the water; and the liturgy of the Eucharist.
The catechumens will be baptised with the holy water and will also be confirmed with the chrism oil consecrated on Maundy Thursday morning. During the same Vigil, the newly baptised will receive holy communion. In the Catholic Church, these sacraments are the foundation on which its members build their lives and prepare the way for the other sacraments.