Soon-to-be Catholics patiently waiting for church reopenings

Greg Price’s long journey to become a Catholic has become even longer.

Price has felt the tug toward a deeper spirituality since he was a young boy. “I grew up with people saying ‘I believe in God’ but never really knowing what that meant,” he said.

Over decades, he was slowly drawn towards Catholicism and finally hoped to be baptized this Easter. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit and all public Masses were cancelled, including the Easter vigil at which he was to officially join the faith he’d pursued for years.

“I’ve felt the pull, the guiding hand of God, for a long time,” said Price. “I’m okay with waiting. It’s quite alright.”

Price, along with 442 other candidates and catechumens in the archdiocese’s Rite of Christian Initiation Program, are in a period of uncertainty – waiting and wondering when their time to receive the sacraments will come. 

Many of those preparing for confirmation were told they would have to wait until Pentecost Sunday to enter the Church. Unfortunately, for many of them that is cancelled too. In a letter to pastors May 6, Archbishop J. Michael Miller, CSB, said baptisms and confirmations scheduled at Holy Rosary Cathedral May 31 have been cancelled.

“When health restrictions will make it possible to allow the resumption of Masses with a congregation, even with limited numbers, pastors may at that time decide the most appropriate dates” to go ahead with confirmations for adults in their own parishes.

Baptisms will also be scheduled after churches reopen. That date is still a mystery, and Archbishop Miller has made it clear when they do open, they will have to continue following the B.C. government’s ban on gatherings of more than 50 people.

“In some parishes, if there are four or five, it could probably be handled” in one celebration, he said in a video interview May 8. “Some parishes have 40 or 50. That couldn’t be done at once given the gathering restrictions.”

Meanwhile, those waiting to become Catholics are staying in touch with their sponsors and RCIA leaders online – watching virtual Masses, reading Scripture, and having conversations over video, phone, or email about things they have learned or been inspired by.

Pat Nimmo, an RCIA coordinator at Immaculate Conception Parish in Delta, says she’s been surprised at how well the candidates and catechumens are handling the uncertain times.

“One guy emailed me the other day and he just said this interruption has reminded him to be patient and live in grace in the name of Jesus. ‘Jesus sacrificed everything for us, so asking to adapt to today’s crisis is the least I can do.’ This came from one of our unbaptized members. Getting messages like that, what can we say? It’s good,” she said.

“It does drill us down to what is important.”

Cheryl Unruh’s group at St. Nicholas Parish in Langley has also been keeping each other inspired in the technological ways they feel most comfortable as they wait for baptism or confirmation.

“I would say the attitude seems to be: ‘It’s not our time now. It’s on God’s time.’ I haven’t heard anyone express a lot of disappointment. It’s going to happen when it happens, and in the meantime, it’s okay,” said Unruh, an RCIA coordinator.

“We don’t know what form it will take. Will it be the big vigil that we’re used to? We don’t know. But I would say our people are okay with that.”

Over at Our Lady of Mercy Parish in Burnaby, Valder Belgrave is seeing much of the same kind of reaction.

“Some of course are quite anxious to complete” the RCIA process, he said. He has been asked if soon-to-be Catholics will be waiting until Easter of 2021 to be baptized and confirmed.

“But I think for the most part people have been very happy at least to be able to continue with the preparation that we can provide … I’ve not had very many despairing-type calls, just a lot of curiosity about when and how it will eventually happen.”

Meanwhile, Price says the hardest part about waiting for his turn to be baptized isn’t the waiting.

“Hearing the stories from people, when you’re in the group … It’s really amazing to know it’s not just you that feels this way, this tug toward the Church. It’s God nudging us all. It’s been such a good experience and you meet such different people from all walks of life,” he said.

“You get a sense that everybody really cares about one another. That part is the toughest part: not being able to see everybody you’ve grown with.”