February 18, 2024

WASHINGTON, DC — Thirteen aspiring Catholics affiliated with the United States Military celebrated the Rite of Election in the Nation’s Capital on Feb. 18, 2024, the first Sunday of Lent.  The 3:00 p.m. celebration, which took place in the main chapel of the Edwin Cardinal O’Brien Pastoral Center, global headquarters of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA (AMS), is the penultimate milestone in a year-long process known as the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA). In the OCIA, candidates study the faith, prayerfully discern their calling to Catholicism, and upon completing the process, come into communion with the Church through the Easter sacraments of baptism, confirmation, and Holy Communion.