God working powerfully in the Archdiocese of Mobile

The Holy Spirit greatly blesses the Archdiocese of Mobile. Allow me to give two examples of God working powerfully in our midst.
First, on Saturday, April 19, at the Easter Vigil, 447 people will join the Church. Some have been members of various Christian denominations, others have not belonged to any denomination. They have been involved in the Order of Christian Initiation (OCIA) at their parish. Although the Church has always walked with people wishing to join the Church, the archdiocese has only requested parishes to send in the number of those being received into the Church at Easter since 2012. This year is the greatest number to be received in the past 13 years.
I am grateful to Mr. Patrick Arensberg, director of the archdiocesan office for evangelization and family life, and all who are involved in OCIA at parishes helping people in their inquiry into the faith. I am also grateful to those who invited someone to join the Church. I have heard many stories of people who joined the Church and the stories, although different, have this in common—almost everyone stated that someone invited them or encouraged them to join. Thank God for these people who took the time to invite someone to find out more about the Catholic Church.
In addition to the growing number of people joining the Church, I am struck by the youthfulness of those who have joined the Church seeking Christ in their lives. In our society, there is a hunger for God and this hunger is increasingly evident amongst the young. In addition, there is a wonderful diversity among those joining the Church. People of different ethnic and racial backgrounds, of every economic and educational background, at every locale—city, small town and rural—and both men and women, are coming into the Church. It is a joy to see. The Holy Spirit is doing something very important in our archdiocese.
Second, a few weeks ago, the Archdiocese of Mobile held the 50th annual Archdiocesan Catholic Youth Conference (ACYC). For 50 years, the archdiocese has conducted this gathering of teenagers. It is a weekend of talks, prayer, sharing, fellowship and fun. Although this event is held annually, records have not been kept from year to year of how many teenagers attended. Records have only been retained since 2019, two years before COVID. This year’s event attracted 388 teens and a total attendance of 463, including the adult chaperones. This is the largest number in our records. ACYC has been held in the same hotel ballroom since 2012, and no one remembers the room being as filled as it was this year. Especially uplifting was the fact that the teens came from all over the archdiocese. It was a diverse group. Of the attendees, 52% were White Anglo, 32% were Hispanic and 12% were Black.  This reflects the fact that the Catholic Church is a welcoming Church. I am grateful to Mr. Dillon Stein, director of the archdiocesan office for youth and young adult ministries, for his leadership and to all the parents, chaperones, seminarians and volunteers who made the weekend possible and so powerfully grace-filled. Thanks also to our parish priests and staff for their outreach to the youth of our parishes. ACYC would not happen without the youth ministry in our parishes.
As much as I thank God for these two events, I ask that we continue to work to invite others into a relationship with the Lord. There are many who have grown lukewarm in their practice of the faith or who have left the Church. We all know people like this. We must reach out to them and invite them to renew their relationship with the Lord and His Church and to invite non-Catholics to join the Church. Almost everyone in OCIA speaks of someone who invited them into the Church, we can be that person in the life of someone else.
Similarly, our teens need the support of other teens who want Christ in their lives. Our young people need the encouragement and support of peers in living the faith. Parents, please encourage your sons and daughters to become part of the youth ministry in their parish. Our young people flounder without God in their lives. We cannot risk raising a lost generation and often teenagers relate best to a peer when building a relationship with God.
May the Holy Spirit continue to bless our archdiocese and may each of us cooperate with the Spirit in touching the lives of others.