The first Sunday of Lent featured a special occasion for those preparing to enter the Church this Easter with a service celebrating the ‘Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion’.

More than two hundred catechumens and candidates from parishes across the Archdiocese of Liverpool gathered at the Metropolitan Cathedral on 23 February for a significant step on their journey towards Catholicism. The Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion marked a key moment for those preparing either for Baptism or to complete their initiation through Confession and Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil.

“I welcome you to the Metropolitan Cathedral this afternoon on the First Sunday of Lent. Along with bishops across the world, we welcome you to either join the Church by Baptism at Easter or deepen your relationship with the Church by the other sacraments of initiation.”

Those were the words of Archbishop John Sherrington as he addressed more than two hundred catechumens and candidates from parishes around the Archdiocese of Liverpool, at a special service at the Metropolitan Cathedral celebrating the ‘Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion’.

The 3pm service at the cathedral on the First Sunday of Lent provided a significant staging post for the catechumens and candidates – respectively, those preparing for Baptism and those preparing for their first Confession and Communion – for whom the process will conclude at the Easter Vigil.

“For many, perhaps this is first visit to the Cathedral,” Archbishop Sherrington added. “Enjoy and savour the beauty on this sunny afternoon. It is your home.

“My dear brothers and sisters to be baptised, our catechumens, today you become the ‘elect’ to walk together to Baptism. Today the Church rejoices with you as we see the Church increase in members. Today we pray for you and promise to accompany you towards the great celebration of Easter and the rising of Christ from the dead after his suffering and passion.”

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‘Green shoots in our communities’

There were similar services in dioceses across the country – and indeed the world – on that weekend. Archbishop Sherrington had highlighted the importance of the service at our cathedral when speaking on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Sunday Worship’ on that same morning.

“We pray for those adults who are preparing to be baptised, confirmed, and receive Holy Communion at the Easter Vigil,” he said. “They are a sign that the living Christ continues to call disciples to follow him and be His presence in the world through the power of the Holy Spirit. Later this afternoon, like bishops around the world, I will welcome these chosen ones to the Metropolitan Cathedral in Liverpool. I will remind them that the whole Church will be praying for them during Lent. It is a beautiful moment and very encouraging, as I hear each person’s journey to faith, which is always very moving. They are the new green shoots in our communities.”

In his homily during the service, Archbishop Sherrington also referred to the reading, taken from the First Book of Samuel. In it, Samuel heard a voice calling him but thought it was his priest and teacher, Eli.

The Archbishop said: “Eli recognises that it is the voice of the Lord. He tells Samuel to go and listen and to say in response, ‘Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.’ Samuel needs his teacher Eli to help him discern the voice of God. I thank those who have helped our catechumens and candidates to discern the call of the Lord Jesus in your lives. I invite you now during this season of Lent to listen to the Lord speaking to you in prayer, in the word of the scriptures, at Mass.

“Just as it took three attempts for Samuel to hear the voice of the Lord, so too we need to attune ourselves and persevere. For this, we need space and time and a quiet place. We might find beautiful music helpful, but then we must listen and pray, ‘Speak, Lord, your servant is listening’. Ask Jesus for the grace that you need.

“Dear friends, at your Baptism you will be called ‘The beloved of the Lord’. Ponder this title and rejoice in it. My brothers and sisters who prepare for Confirmation and the Eucharist, you are the beloved of the Lord. Listen deeply to this title and know how much you are loved by God. Your names are written in letters of love on the heart of Jesus.”

As the centrepiece of the service, each catechumen had their name read out and stepped forward to the front of the altar – together with their godparents, family and parish supporters – to sign the Book of the Elect, for those being baptised.

A similar process then took place for the candidates who, parish by parish, had their names read out and processed to the altar with their sponsor, family and parish supporters. As with the catechumens, each received a welcome from the Archbishop and the Vicars General, Bishop Tom Neylon and Canon Aidan Prescott, together with a copy of the Archbishop’s Lenten prayer card.

The Archbishop added: “By Baptism we are members of the Church, the Body of Christ. Baptism is a call to love and the service of others, as we heard in the Gospel passage. Jesus says, ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.’ You are called to live out this love in your daily life. It is a call to a vocation in Christ which is led and strengthened by the Holy Spirit. Pray daily for the help of the Holy Spirit. I have given you this prayer on the prayer card.”

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‘All are welcome in this house’

According to Deacon Paul Mannings, who is permanent deacon to the Metropolitan Cathedral, the service was “an opportunity to come together to let people realise that here is the archdiocese at work”, with so many different parishes represented. Indeed, the sight of all the catechumens circling the altar with their godparents and, in turn, the candidates doing likewise with their sponsors underlined the impressive numbers involved this year.

Deacon Paul is part of the team at the cathedral which has been preparing both catechumens and candidates since the start of October, meeting on Monday evenings along with his assistants Mark Vowles and Dee Di Matteo. The cathedral is not just the mother church of the archdiocese, but a parish in its own right, and his group have what he calls an “old-fashioned parish identity” – and that sense of community is an important part of the process of any RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) course.

He explained: “It's a process of discerning. People will come to us in October when we start and the first thing we set about doing is establishing a community – a temporary community where all are together, where we have a safe space to talk and to work.

“With regards to the process itself, there's the acquisition of knowledge and understanding, but there's also space for people to talk and to share and to ask questions about the faith.”

Among Deacon Paul’s group of candidates is Cos Zinonos, 50, who as a child was baptised into the Greek Orthodox Church but is now preparing to become a Catholic. Cos, whose wife is a Catholic, explained: “I felt a closer relationship to God through the Catholic Church, and so have gone through the course over the last six months to truly understand the Church and to have that deeper relationship with God, and every session that I've gone to has been illuminating.”

He gives the example of a session on the Holy Trinity – ‘Father, Son and Holy Spirit’ – given by Father Faustinus Ugwuanyi. “The breakdown of the Holy Trinity, presented by Father Faustinus, was very inspiring,” he noted. And the service on 23 February even more so. “It was a very joyful event,” he said. “The cathedral was absolutely packed.”

Anybody interested in learning more about the Metropolitan Cathedral’s RCIA course for 2026/27 should email: enquiries@metcathedral.org.uk.

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