By Jay Sorgi • Posted April 10, 2026

Archbishop Nelson J. Pérez said it plainly to the nine people who received baptism and the sacraments of initiation into the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil Mass Saturday, April 4 at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul.

“This is your night. You will never, ever forget this night,” he said to the nine who were among the 1,162 catechumens and candidates across 128 parishes in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia receiving sacraments during the Easter Vigil or similar Masses this year, a total dramatically higher than previous years.

“It’s the night that the light of Christ will be shared with you in a beautiful way as you are immersed in the waters of baptism, into His very death, His very resurrection which this night celebrates.”

Across the archdiocese this year 500 catechumens are receiving baptism and the other sacraments of initiation including holy Eucharist, penance and confirmation, while another 662 candidates who already have been baptized are receiving the other sacraments through the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA).

Catechists at the parish level who are leading these women and men deeper into the Catholic faith are seeing individual life stories and situations culminating in full communion with the Church.

“What’s happening? It’s really hard to explain. In many instances, these are young adults who were not baptized as children by their parents,” said Father Dennis Gill, the rector and pastor of the Cathedral Basilica.

“But in other instances, it’s people who had no family connection with the faith and have found the Lord and want to be baptized.”

The total of 1,162 catechumens and candidates this year in the archdiocese is a 62% increase over 2025, when 725 people took the same steps in faith. That year, 331 people catechumens and 394 candidates received their respective sacraments.

This year’s total is nearly double that of 10 years ago, when 590 catechumens and candidates received their sacraments.

“The number is remarkable and I think it’s going to be that way for years to come,” said Father Gill, who has helped more than a dozen catechumens and nearly two dozen candidates through their faith journeys this year at the Cathedral Basilica.

“There’s a recognized need for God and the presence of God at work in people’s lives. The sacraments are attractive, the Church is attractive, the stability of the Church is attractive, the tradition is attractive, and all of this is taking hold of people’s minds and hearts and leading them to want to receive and celebrate the sacraments of Christian initiation.”

Kathleen Greco, the director of religious education at St. Joseph Parish in Downingtown, has had so many candidates and catechumens enter the program this year that she had to find a bigger space and more materials to help serve them.

“My first year, I had probably about six to eight people. My second year was a group that I put together, roughly eight people,” said Greco.

“This year, it just exploded. All together, we began with about 35 to 40 people. We are ending with 32 (with) an age range of 13 to 78 … it is just the best problem to have.”

Greco has witnessed powerful stories among her full classes of initiates, including a cancer patient.

“She was baptized Catholic, and I believe she just didn’t get her first holy Communion or her confirmation. Between going into the hospital to get her chemotherapy and her radiation, she’s been coming to OCIA and being present with us as well,” said Greco.

“Another young lady is married, and she kept miscarrying. With the pain of that last miscarriage, she felt that there was something missing in her life and thought that OCIA would be a great place to start. I’m happy to say she had a healthy, beautiful little baby girl recently.”

Young people, especially teenagers, are well represented in the upsurge of Catholic initiates.

Ten of the 15 archdiocesan high schools reported that a total of 85 students are entering full communion with the Church this year, according to figures from the Office of Catholic Education.

Pope John Paul II High School in Royersford and Conwell-Egan High School in Fairless Hills had the most new Catholics, with 25 and 17 respectively.

Besides those students and even one faculty member entering the Church, OCE administrators note increased participation in the sacraments and in voluntary retreats by students in the high schools.

“Multiple schools are reporting strong participation in OCIA this year, with several seeing double-digit numbers of students entering the Church,” said Brendan Towell, archdiocesan Director of Spirituality and Mission for Secondary Schools and Schools of Special Education.

“Participation spans all grade levels, with a notable concentration among sophomores and juniors in several schools. Students are coming from a wide range of backgrounds including Protestant, Baptist, Jewish, and no religious affiliation—many described as coming from ‘spiritual but not religious’ homes.”

All these individual journeys reflect unique pathways to Christ for the more than 1,100 new Catholics in the five-county region, where they are supported with prayer and a deeper sacramental life in the Church.

“May God bestow light and strength on those He has called and has led to this hour,” Archbishop Pérez prayed at the Easter Vigil, “that they may hold fast to Christ with resolute spirit and profess the faith of the Church.”