Catechumens sign Book of Elect, meet bishop By Fabvienen Taylor
JACKSON — At the reception following the Rite of Election on Sunday, Feb. 21, at the Cathedral of St. Peter the Apostle, Sherry Moss was already thinking about celebrating the sacrament of reconcilation after she becomes Catholic.
“I feel like reconciliation is going to be a really big step for me,” said Moss. “I will be glad when it happens, when I go through it.”
During the Rite of Election, Moss entered her two children’s names — Steven, 6, and Allyson, 4 — along with hers in the Book of the Elect before they met Bishop Joseph Latino.
They will become members of the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil, April 3, at Greenville St. Joseph Parish. This year St. Joseph has 13 catechumens and 16 candidates preparing to enter the church.
During the Rite of Election a parish representative calls out the names of the catechumens who then come forward to enter their names in the Book of the Elect and meet the bishop.
The parishes present at the Rite of Election in the cathedral reported a total of 91 catechumens and 209 candidates. Those numbers are expected to be larger when additional parishes in the Diocese of Jackson send in their new members following the Easter Vigil.
A native of Glen Allen, Moss moved back to Mississippi after living 12 years in Memphis.
“This is the first time I have found a place where I really feel like I belong and with my mother and sister already at St. Joseph, it seems very natural for me to become a member. And I am very excited about raising my children in the Catholic faith.”
Moss decided to enter the RCIA after meeting and talking with St. Joseph pastor, Father Richard Somers.
“He is fantastic, he is a great man. And Janette (Garner), my sponsor, has been great too. She calls me, checks on me, asks me all kinds of great questions that make me think. She has been with me the whole way.”
Learning about the seven sacraments, Moss said, has made her faith journey more meaningful.
“Everything seems to have more of a purpose than before I started the process of becoming Catholic,” she said. “I definitely feel I am getting closer to God. I pray more, read the Bible more and I have more conversations with God in prayer.”
Two years ago Christopher Pridgen, 25, married his high-school sweetheart who was Catholic but put off making any decision about his own faith.
“I was in the military and we moved around a lot and it was hard for me to go through the RCIA process, so I would find every excuse in the book not to do it,” he said.
But after his daughter was born four months ago, things changed.
“Having her, I told myself I need to definitely go ahead and do this, go ahead and start going to RCIA,” he said, “I don’t want to be the daddy just sitting there in the pew when my wife and daughter go up to take Communion.”
Pridgen grew up in a family where religion, Jesus, and God were not discussed.
“Religion was not taboo, we just did not go to any kind of church when I was younger. But I am older now and more mature about my faith.”
Since entering RCIA in the Catholic Community of Meridian, Pridgen feels more comfortable talking about his faith.
“It is fun talking to my wife and having a running commentary about it, having an ongoing conversation with her.”
On April 3, the Easter Vigil, Milenny Ferreras will become the only Catholic in her family.
Her journey started when a friend invited her to Mass at Forest St. Michael Church.
“I just like what I hear at Mass, at church. I like the way the people are, the way they live,” said the 16-year-old.
