SCRANTON — Due to the threat of an impending winter storm, the Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, cancelled the Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion traditionally held at the Cathedral of Saint Peter on the First Sunday of Lent.
With the announcement, Bishop Bambera directed that the ceremonies for those seeking full communion in the Catholic Church this year be celebrated in local parishes that weekend, if possible, or during the Second Sunday of Lent weekend.
“I’ve asked our Pastors to celebrate this cherished ritual within your parishes,” the Bishop related in the preface of a prepared text of his homily meant to be delivered in person in the venerable Scranton Cathedral on Feb. 22. “While disappointed, we all have much for which to be grateful as we pray for the well over three hundred catechumens and candidates from parishes throughout our eleven counties who have answered the Lord’s call to discipleship.”
As Bishop Bambera indicated, the 2026 Rite of Election numbers are most impressive.
The 137 catechumens — those who have never been baptized in the Christian faith — and 175 candidates — baptized Christians who desire full communion in the Church through Eucharist and Confirmation — outnumber by more than 100 the 207 catechumens and candidates from last year’s Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion.
The Rite of Election is a pivotal moment in the journey of those seeking full initiation into the Catholic faith. Following months — sometimes even years — of prayerful preparation, study and discernment, the ceremony symbolizes their formal selection to become members of the Church at the upcoming Easter Vigil.
“While it was unfortunate that we weren’t able to celebrate at the Cathedral with the Bishop and hundreds of others, the flip side was that the parish community was able to witness and participate in this important milestone for all of our catechumens and candidates,” Ann O’Brien, coordinator for the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) at Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in Peckville, said. “It was beautiful to be a part of this ancient tradition at the parish level and surround the catechumens and candidates with our community’s prayer and support.”
Joyce Chowanec, one of five candidates from the Peckville parish where Father Andrew Kurovsky serves as pastor, knew she probably would not be in attendance for her local celebration held on the First Sunday of Lent. However, she was able to enjoy the livestream through her phone.
“While I watched…as my friends continued the process, it was emotional because I could really feel I was there spiritually,” she said. “Father Andy included me with his special message, and I felt that was so very special. I am forever grateful for everyone that has worked with our group.”
Describing his new prospective parishioners as being “on fire” about entering the Catholic Church, Father Joseph Kutch, pastor of Saint Michael Parish in Canton, expressed, “I am thrilled with all six of the individuals involved in our OCIA. I am very proud of each and every one of them. They are so excited and proud about their newfound faith, to the point of tears.”
The pastor also shares in their enthusiasm about the upcoming Easter Vigil ceremonies.
“I, too, am so looking forward to this year’s Vigil, which will be extra special as I have the privilege to baptize the three catechumens and minister the Sacrament of Confirmation to all six,” Father Kutch remarked.
Among the three candidates at Saint Michael’s is Sandy Jackson, who was baptized into the Lutheran church and most recently worshipped in the Methodist tradition.
“Last September, I attended my first Catholic Mass and immediately felt at home,” she shared.
“Participating in the Rites of Initiation and witnessing the Rite of Election was deeply moving,” Jackson continued. “The reverence and formality of these moments made God’s presence tangible. Holding the Rite at our parish allowed the congregation to share in and support our journey.”
Concerning the celebration of this year’s Rite of Election in local churches, Katie James offered her unique perspective as a catechist for the OCIA program at Christ the King Parish in Archbald.
“It is a gift to journey with these catechumens as they prepare to receive the Sacraments of Initiation. One of the beauties of the Order is that the entire parish joins in supporting them,” James explained. “Through the Rite of Election and the Scrutinies, the community comes together to pray for the continued formation of these catechumens, while also being strengthened by their witness and desire to seek the faith.”
Tracey Singletary joins her husband, William, as candidates journeying through the Call to Conversion process at Saint Patrick Parish in Nicholson.
As she returns to her Catholic roots seeking full communion into the Church, Tracey is serving as Confirmation sponsor for her husband, who received Christian baptism and now desires entrance into the Catholic faith.
“Returning to the Church after so many years has been humbling,” Tracey began. “There is something powerful about coming home to the sacraments and the truth of the faith that was always there waiting.”
She continued by stating how her faith journey has become even more meaningful with William walking beside her as a candidate for First Eucharist and Confirmation.
“As Easter approaches, I feel a deep longing to receive the Eucharist again — to encounter Christ truly present — a gift I once took for granted but now cherish with a grateful heart,” Tracey said. “This journey has reminded me that even when we wander far, Christ patiently waits for us and never stops calling us home.”
Carlie Craven of Dupont, an OCIA candidate at Saint John the Evangelist Parish in Pittston, was candid about her circuitous path to full communion in the Catholic Church.
“Some people grow up with faith and never leave it. My story is different,” Craven related, explaining that as a “cradle Catholic” she was baptized into the faith and received First Communion and First Reconciliation.
“Mine is the story of leaving, wandering, questioning everything — and slowly, unexpectedly, finding my way home,” she continued as she told how a fractured family unit prevented her from receiving Confirmation, leading ultimately to separation from her faith and even her beliefs.
“The faith that was planted in me through baptism had never truly disappeared. It had simply waited…for the moment when I would finally be ready to return,” Craven said. “And when that moment came, I realized something profound. I had not just rediscovered the Catholic Church. I had come home.”
Matt Rosencrans, who participated as a catechumen in the Rite of Election at Saint John the Evangelist on March 1, describes his faith journey of conversion to Catholicism with a quote by Saint John Henry Newman: “To live is to change, and to be perfect is to have changed often.”
Stating it took years for him to “succumb to my thoughts and pursue my faith,” Rosencrans said during the past year, “it just clicked, everything aligned, and I knew it was time.”
“A dear friend of mine from the Harrisburg area, who also recently converted, stated that it must have been a calling,” he expressed. “I wholeheartedly believe that because I was blessed with a great (OCIA) class, led by amazing people, and a beautiful church.”
Also among the three candidates from the Pittston parish is Ryan Camaratta, who openly shared that he celebrated seven years of sobriety on the same day he participated in the Rite of Election at Saint John’s.
“I was baptized as a Catholic at birth and raised in a Catholic family and attended a Catholic school. I was adherent to the faith and the Church until about the age of 14, when I developed an addiction to opiates,” Camaratta declared forthrightly.
From there, his story spirals steeply out of control, eventually leading to chronic homelessness and extended incarceration.
“Last year I felt compelled to come back to the Church after years spent rebuilding my relationship with Christ, and I felt called to the parish of Saint John the Evangelist,” he remarked. “I requested to meet with a priest and had the great fortune to meet Father (Joseph) Elston, who welcomed me back to the Church after having willfully spent most of my life away from it.”
Camaratta concluded, “I’ve learned what a powerful force God can work on the sick and the afflicted and the lost, and that forgiveness truly is unconditional and never ending. Above all, I’ve learned and come to appreciate that living with Christ and with His Church is the only key to happiness and contentment I have ever found.”