November 6, 2020

Worth the wait

Delay in receiving sacraments due to pandemic did not dampen joy for new Catholics

Members of the horticulture club at St. Bartholomew School in Columbus pose for a photo with principal Helen Heckman in the school’s greenhouse-outdoor learning lab in March. (File photo by John Shaughnessy)

Gene Gadient receives his first Eucharist from Father Douglas Hunter during a special Mass to welcome catechumens and candidates into the full communion of the Church at St. Roch Church in Indianapolis on July 12. (Submitted photo)

By Natalie Hoefer

In normal years, most candidates and catechumens are welcomed into the full communion of the Catholic Church during the Easter Vigil Mass.

“Normal” does not apply to 2020.

With public worship at Mass suspended in parishes in the spring across central and southern Indiana to slow the spread of the coronavirus, those expecting to receive the sacraments on the holiest day of the liturgical year were unable to do so.

The length of time they waited to receive the sacraments varied. But the wait was worth it, according to three new Catholics of the archdiocese.

Inside this issue, Drew Haynes of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish in New Albany, Bryan Stater of St. Bartholomew Parish in Columbus and Gene Gadient of St. Roch Parish in Indianapolis share their journeys to the Catholic faith.
 

(Due to the suspension of public Masses at the time of the Easter Vigil this year in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus, it was necessary for each parish to determine when to celebrate a special liturgy to welcome their catechumens and candidates into the full communion of the Church. Consequently, The Criterion is unable to list the archdiocese’s new Catholics this year.) †

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