New Jersey bishop draws on words of Pope Benedict XVI to celebrate number of elect joining Church this Easter

Echoing the words of Pope Benedict XVI that “the Church is alive and the Church is young,” the bishop of the Diocese of Camden, New Jersey, said in a recent pastoral letter that the record number of catechumens preparing to enter the Church this Easter is a sign of renewal. 

While celebrating the Rite of Election for catechumens preparing to enter the Catholic Church this Easter, Bishop Joseph Williams said in his March 7 letter that the words of Pope Benedict entered his heart as he witnessed the large number of young people present.

“Not only was this the largest number of Elect that Camden has seen in at least 20 years,” Bishop Williams said, “but as they approached their bishop with their names written in the Book of the Elect, the predominance of youth and young adults was there for all to see.”

The bishop said it embodied the words spoken by Pope Benedict more than 20 years ago after he witnessed the large number of young pilgrims gathered in Rome for the funeral of Pope John Paul II.

“The Church is alive. And the Church is young,” Pope Benedict had said. “She holds within herself the future of the world, and therefore shows each of us the way toward the future.The Church is alive, and we are seeing it.” 

Bishop Williams also noted the step the catechumens are taking reflects the divine graces of the Lord.

“Some of these Elect made this step simply because of a sovereign act of the Risen Lord working in their minds and hearts through ‘actual grace,’” he wrote. “All of this proclaims the Good News first proclaimed by the holy women in Jerusalem on Easter Day: ‘He is alive!’”