Archbishop Weisenburger to converts: ‘You have been called. You have been chosen. And you've been sent on a mission to love.’
DETROIT — The Archdiocese of Detroit will welcome at least 1,428 people into full communion with the Church this Easter, the highest number in more than two decades.
The archdiocese’s Department of Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship reports the Church will receive 583 catechumens — people who haven’t been baptized — and 845 candidates — baptized people who will be confirmed into the Catholic Church.
It’s the largest such class since 2005, when the Church received 584 catechumens and 905 candidates for a total of 1,489 converts.
The numbers come from the four Rite of Election liturgies, which took place last weekend at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit, where catechumens and candidates from across the Archdiocese of Detroit were presented before a bishop by their sponsors and OCIA coordinators.
The catechumens were called by name to come to the front of the cathedral to sign their names in the Book of the Elect and stand before a bishop, while candidates were asked to stand in their pews with their sponsors when their names were called.
Kathy Fech, sacred worship coordinator in the Department of Evangelization and Missionary Discipleship, attributes the resurgent numbers to a couple of factors, including an increase in interest in the Catholic faith following the COVID-19 pandemic and the National Eucharistic Revival.
Fech said OCIA coordinators across the archdiocese have reported greater interest as a post-pandemic culture has left people — particularly younger people — interested in religion as a source of community, compassion and structure.
Dioceses across the country are reporting similar upticks.
“We’re seeing the fruits of the Eucharistic Revival and the National Eucharistic Congress (which took place in Indianapolis in 2025),” Fech told Detroit Catholic. “Also, the growing presence of apostolates such as St. Paul Street Evangelization, FOCUS and many more.”
Beyond that, Fech said the archdiocese has made a greater effort to encourage parishes to participate in the annual Rite of Election.
“This is my second Rite of Election and Call to Continuing Conversion in the Archdiocese of Detroit, and our office took great care this year to pursue all parishes regarding the importance of the Rite of Election,” Fech told Detroit Catholic. “There were a handful of parishes, some with quite large groups, who didn’t always attend the rite in the past.”
Alex Schultz, 22, a member of St. John Fisher Chapel University Parish in Auburn Hills, attended Catholic school in Owosso, Michigan, for eight years, but wasn’t Catholic.
A friend’s interest in Catholicism sparked her own interest in the faith, as she re-engaged with aspects of the Church that were familiar, but with a fresh, more mature outlook.
“My friend who’s in the military was interested in Catholicism, and that kind of brought me onto this track, and he reintroduced me to the Church,” Schultz said.
Schultz and her friend were exploring other religions, including Eastern Orthodoxy and Buddhism, but knew Catholicism was home.
“Me, and a lot of young people like me, are drawn to the structure of the Church,” Schultz said. “People are looking for how to live life correctly, or how it should be lived, because there’s a lot of issues in this day and age with technology and temptations. I think people are looking for something more grounded than just doing what you want to do as long as you make you happy.”
Amara Roux, a senior at Milford High School, will be confirmed into the Catholic Church this Easter at St. Mary Our Lady of the Snows Parish in Milford, inspired by her sister, who was confirmed last year.
Roux grew up Catholic, but by the time she received her first Communion, the family started to fall out of practice. It wasn't until her sister began to show interest in the faith that Roux became inspired to pursue her own confirmation.
“My sister, in her senior year of high school, got confirmed, and I was just very inspired by her bringing herself back to the faith. She really inspired me, and that’s why I chose to put in the work and get confirmed,” Roux said.
Signing up for OCIA classes was a little intimidating at first, but Roux said her sister and other young people in the class served as spiritual support.
“You definitely have to have some sort of self-accountability, which I’ve struggled with,” Roux said. “Having a lot of friends getting confirmed (at the same time), including my brother’s girlfriend, who is getting confirmed with me, it’s just nice to have that community as we get closer to God.”
Like Schultz, Roux said her generation has been particularly open to questions about faith and religion because many are looking for something grounded in truth.
“I think we’re kind of a lonely generation, in all honesty, just with social media and stuff like that, constantly being bombarded with messages,” Roux said. “But it’s like what the archbishop said in his homily: 'In the Catholic Church you will always find love,' and I think that’s probably what’s drawing people to the Church, that it’s so filled with love.”
Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger presided over the Sunday afternoon Rite of Election, where he reminded the catechumens and candidates that they aren’t just joining a parish, but the universal Church.
“As critically important as parish life is — that’s where you find community, and where you will encounter the body of Christ — it’s not just the local parish. Rather, when you become Catholic, you are embracing and are being embraced by the universal Church,” Archbishop Weisenburger said.
Archbishop Weisenburger said the Rite of Election is a visible sign of the significant decision the candidates and catechumens are making.
“The Church wants the bishop to do this with you to ensure that you recognize the significance of this action,” Archbishop Weisenburger added. “Christ, who for all of eternity is found alive throughout the universal Holy Roman Catholic Church, is calling you, the elect, today to move forward. You might even say that it is here today that we, in the name of Jesus himself, choose you.”
Archbishop Weisenburger said as a bishop, the Rite of Election is "one of the most favorite days of the year," with a full cathedral of people answering Christ's call to follow him.
“In John’s Gospel, Jesus is fond of saying, ‘It is not you who chose me; it is I who chose you,’” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “Sisters and brothers, if any of you had it in your mind that it was you who finally broke down and went to OCIA classes, and you are now choosing for yourself to be Catholic, then, you kind of missed the point.
“Not one of us is here today accidentally or incidentally,” the archbishop added. “From all eternity, it really was the Father’s will that each of us would hear His call that flows from the voice of Jesus, His son, and only those having heard that call respond by embracing the Son in faith and sacrament.”
The archbishop ended his homily by reminding the elect that every time a disciple is called to follow Jesus, they are sent on a mission: a mission to love.
“In every way and in every season of your life, the proof of your election, the proof of your response to the call from Christ will be the extent to which you love,” Archbishop Weisenburger said. “Not 'Hallmark card' love, not emotions, but a love like Christ on the cross — recognizing that you must pour yourself out for others, and in that way, you really will paradoxically come to life again.
“From this day forward, be assured of your call," he added. "From all eternity, you were desired. At this moment in time, you are chosen. And for all eternity, you will be loved.”
