A liturgy that made history in Shrewsbury

On the First Sunday of Lent 2026, Shrewsbury Cathedral did something it had never done before. It held two successive Rites of Election in a single afternoon. The Cathedral, which has stood at Town Walls since the foundation stone was laid in 1853, simply could not hold everyone in one celebration. One hundred and seventy one candidates from 31 parishes across the diocese came forward, accompanied by their godparents and sponsors. In 2025 the diocese received 100 candidates at a single rite. In 2024 it was 82. The pattern is unmistakable.

Bishop Davies has named the moment plainly. He has called it a "Church ready for converts," borrowing the phrase from Saint John Henry Newman's Second Spring sermon of 1852.

What the Rite of Election actually is

The Rite of Election sits at the hinge of OCIA. It is the moment when those who have been catechumens, walking the long path of formation, are formally chosen, or elected, by the Bishop of the diocese for the sacraments of initiation at the Easter Vigil. From that day on, they are no longer called catechumens. They are called the elect.

The diocesan summary of the rite puts it this way:

The Rite marks a key moment in the journey of those preparing for Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist at Easter. During the celebration, catechumens are formally "elected" by the Bishop, signifying the Church's recognition of their readiness to receive the sacraments of initiation.

Diocese of Shrewsbury, Rite of Election notice 2026.

What happens in the liturgy

The rite always falls on the First Sunday of Lent and is celebrated by the diocesan Bishop in his Cathedral. In Shrewsbury that means Bishop Mark Davies at the Cathedral Church of Our Lady Help of Christians and Saint Peter of Alcantara. The rite includes:

• The presentation of the candidates by their parish catechists or godparents.
• The affirmation of the godparents, who are asked publicly whether the candidates have heard the word of God, walked in his presence, sought the company of the brethren and joined them in prayer.
• The Bishop's act of election, in which he calls the candidates by name, declares them chosen and asks them to sign the Book of the Elect.
• Intercessions and the dismissal, sending the elect back to their parishes for the final forty days of Lent.

For those being received into full communion having already been validly baptised in another Christian tradition, the rite takes a slightly different form, called the Call to Continuing Conversion. The diocese folds both into the same liturgy.

What candidates and godparents tell us

People who have been through the rite often describe it as a turning point. Until that Sunday, they have been quietly preparing. On that Sunday they stand before the Bishop, in front of hundreds of fellow Catholics, and have their names spoken aloud. The signing of the Book of the Elect is a moment many find deeply moving. The book stays in the diocesan archive.

Godparents and sponsors, too, find it sobering. They are asked publicly to vouch for the candidate they have been walking with. It reframes the whole role. A godparent is not a relative who turns up for the ceremony. A godparent is a witness who stands and answers for someone before God and the Church.

Bishop Davies on the moment

The 171 candidates of 2026 were the largest gathering in living memory. Bishop Davies returned to Newman's prophecy in his Easter homily that year:

This Easter morning, many thousands of adults, mainly young adults mostly from no religious background, have made their way through the shadows and darkness of our time like the women and the apostles on the first Easter morning to "see and believe" that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and truly present in His Church, supremely in His Eucharist.

Bishop Mark Davies, Easter Homily 2026.

And earlier, in his Lent 2026 letter, the Bishop pressed the same point on the whole diocese: "every member of the Church must always be a convert." The Rite of Election is a public reminder that the Church is always becoming what she is.

The Scriptures behind the rite

The rite draws on the language of election that runs through the whole Bible. "You did not choose me but I chose you" (John 15:16). "He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world" (Ephesians 1:4). The Catechism teaches that Baptism is "the foundation of the whole Christian life, the gateway to life in the Spirit" (CCC 1213), and the Rite of Election is the door to that gateway.

If you are preparing for the rite next year

If your parish has enrolled you as a catechumen, the diocesan team will be in touch through your priest in the new year. The diocesan liaison for the Rite of Election is Natalie Orefice, who allocates candidates between the two liturgies based on pastoral area.

• Email Natalie Orefice at Natalie.orefice@dioceseofshrewsbury.org if your parish needs to confirm numbers.
• Visit Shrewsbury Cathedral on a Sunday before the rite to know the building you will be in.
• Choose your godparent or sponsor early. Ask someone whose Catholic life you admire.
• If you are not yet enrolled but would like to be, speak to your local parish priest, or find your nearest parish via catholicshrewsbury.com/find/parishes.