Rite of Election

Fall 2024 / Winter 2025

Dear Pastor and Coordinator of the Catechumenate (OCIA),

His Eminence Timothy Michael Cardinal Dolan invites those catechumens (the unbaptized) who participated in their parish Catechumenate (OCIA) process and are ready to celebrate the three sacraments of Christian initiation this coming Easter Vigil to formally celebrate the Archdiocesan Rite of Election on the First Sunday of Lent, March 9, 2025 at 2:30PM at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City.

All the catechumens, along with their godparents, of the Archdiocese of New York are invited to attend the Archdiocesan Rite of Election at the Cathedral. According to the Rite, paragraph #121: “Admission to election therefore belongs to the bishop, and the presiding celebrant for the rite of election is the bishop himself.”

You must register your Catechumens in advance. Online Registration opens January 31, 2025.

The preparation for this celebration is extensive and so you must register by Friday, February 28, 2025.

If your parish registration is not in by the 28th of February, we will not be able to include your parish name in the program booklet and the names of your Catechumens will not be called at the Archdiocesan Rite of Election.

There will be reserved seats for parish groups at the Cathedral. We respectfully ask that all other guests find their seats in unreserved pews of the Cathedral. We also invite each parish attending the Cathedral Rite to send a parish hospitality volunteer to assist at the Rite. Please note that the parish Hospitality Volunteer should not be a Godparent.

In order to assist in your preparations for this Rite, we have attached these two links that should be helpful to you, namely:

General Instructions for the Archdiocesan Rite of Election
Liturgical Instructions for the Archdiocesan Rite of Election

Parish baptized Catechumenate candidates who are ready for their Confirmation and First Holy Communion this coming Easter season, may celebrate the Rite of Calling the Candidates to Continuing Conversion at any of the parish Sunday Masses on the First Sunday of Lent, March 9, 2025.

For more information go to this link:  Rite of Calling the Candidates

Finally, as a means of ongoing support, we are inviting all parish Catechumens and Candidates who will be celebrating their sacraments of Christian initiation during this coming 2025 Easter season to participate in any of the Archdiocesan Lenten Retreat Days for all the Elect and Candidates, godparents, sponsors and Catechumenate team members. For more information and registration go to this link:  Catechumenate Lenten Retreat Days

If you need any further assistance with any of these upcoming Archdiocesan Catechumenate events, please feel free to contact us at 646-794-2574 or by e-mailing us at: [email protected]

Thank you for your cooperation with these matters. It really makes a difference.