FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 13, 2022

Diocese of Arlington to Receive More Than 160  Adults into the Catholic Church During Easter Vigil Masses, this Saturday, April 16

Bishop Burbidge said, "To those preparing for sacraments of initiation, please know that our entire diocesan church is praying with and for you..."

ARLINGTON, Va. - The Diocese of Arlington is poised to receive more than 160 adults into the Catholic Church at Easter Vigil Masses the evening of Saturday, April 16. Easter Vigil Masses are approximately three-hour long celebrations of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. At this most solemn occasion, those who are seeking full Christian initiation into the Church and have completed classes on the foundations of the Catholic faith receive the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and First Holy Communion.

“At Easter we celebrate our Lord's victory over sin and death. To those preparing for sacraments of initiation, please know that our entire diocesan church is praying with and for you as you prepare to enter into new life in Christ or share more fully in Christ's Mystical Body,” said Bishop Michael F. Burbidge. “I also invite all the Catholic faithful to make Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum a time for intimate union with the Lord through prayer. May we all commit to living as true disciples of Christ, strengthened and sustained in peace and joy by the life-giving Paschal sacraments.”

Typically, the process of Christian initiation into the Catholic Church is completed in the eighth grade following a two-year preparation period through religious education at a parish or Catholic school. Adult Confirmation is received when an individual enters the Catholic faith at a later stage in life. 

For additional information, contact Amber Roseboom, Director of Media Relations, Catholic Diocese of Arlington, at 571-215-8731 or Amber.Roseboom@arlingtondiocese.org.

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The Catholic Diocese of Arlington was established on August 13, 1974, and is home to 70 parishes and more than 460,000 Catholics. There are currently 276 priests serving in the Diocese and 49 seminarians discerning a priestly vocation. The Diocese has 37 parish (K-8) schools, one virtual school, four diocesan high schools, five independent Catholic schools and three free-standing (not connected with a parish school) pre-schools, serving more than 16,800 students. 

Geographically, the Diocese includes the seven cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, Falls Church, Fredericksburg, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Winchester and the 21 counties of Arlington, Clarke, Culpeper, Fairfax, Fauquier, Frederick, King George, Lancaster, Loudoun, Madison, Northumberland, Orange, Page, Prince William, Rappahannock, Richmond, Shenandoah, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Warren and Westmoreland.