BOSTON -- The first time Christian Tejada set foot inside a church was in 2025.

The 19-year-old from Haverhill was never baptized and never felt close to God until that moment.

"As the years go by, and life gets harder, you got to rely on God," he said.

His grandmother urged him to become Catholic. She wanted at least one of her grandsons to be baptized. Tejada's journey into the Church continued at the Rite of Election on Feb. 22, the First Sunday of Lent. He and nearly 700 other catechumens were brought one step closer to receiving the sacraments of baptism, first Communion, and confirmation in a ceremony presided over by Archbishop Richard G. Henning.

"It feels good," Tejada said. "Feels like a different feeling, something I'm not used to."

Patrick Krisak, director of faith formation and missionary discipleship for the Archdiocese of Boston, said that over 680 catechumens were present at this year's Rite of Election. That is a substantial increase from the 450 catechumens who filled the cathedral in 2025. In previous years, the number of catechumens was typically anywhere between 250 and 300. The number of parishes and campus ministries represented at the ceremony has jumped from 86 last year to 112.

"There are places all throughout the country that are seeing huge growth in these numbers," Krisak told The Pilot. "So the Spirit is at work, and we're just along for the ride."

Traditionally, the catechumens are brought to the front of the cathedral and presented to the presiding bishop. There were so many catechumens this year that, due to the standing-room-only crowds, they had to stand at their places in the pews.

"My heart is moved to overflowing at the sight of you," Archbishop Henning said in his homily, adding, "It has been an amazing experience to see the faith of the people of God, the God in this city, rising up in such a dramatic way."

He said that God "has done something awesome here in Boston."

"I thank you for your trusting and open response to the call of the Lord," he told the catechumens.

The two readings for the celebration were about temptation -- Satan tempting Adam and Eve, and Satan tempting Jesus in the desert. The archbishop said that Satan tempted humanity with the idea that they, too, could be gods. When humans see themselves as gods, Archbishop Henning said, suffering and oppression follow.

"Generation after generation, we make the same mistake," he said. "Too often, we're afraid. We struggle with the vastness of life. We want security, and that sends us in on ourselves. It makes us selfish and grasping and greedy, and it happens over and over again."

He said that through Jesus Christ, humanity is reconciled with God, breaking the cycle.

"I hope that is the truth that brings you here today," he said, "and I rejoice to know that the Lord is speaking to so many people across this archdiocese, inviting them to himself."

He added, "I rejoice to know that you come now to that life as you prepare to be received by the sacraments into the body of that same Jesus Christ."

The catechumens stood as their names were read aloud. They were joined by their godparents, who affirmed to Archbishop Henning that their godchildren had listened to the teachings of the Church and had remained faithful to them. The assembly then affirmed to the archbishop that they would pray for the catechumens throughout the Lenten season. Archbishop Henning asked the catechumens if they were willing to receive the sacraments. They were, so their names were presented to the archbishop. The catechists held up their Books of the Elect, which contained the names of the catechumens.

Those catechumens were now members of the Elect, one step closer to receiving the sacraments and fully entering the Catholic Church. Archbishop Henning told the Elect to "strive with generous spirit," and told their godparents to accompany them. The assembly prayed for the Elect. The archbishop prayed over them and delivered a final blessing.

"It really feels exciting," said catechumen Lena Nguyen, 32, of Reading. "I am excited to be here. I'm happy to be here with my fellow catechumens and to be able to share it with my fiance."

Nguyen spent the earliest years of her life as a Buddhist, then joined a Baptist church when she was 10.

"Then I unfortunately fell away from God altogether," she recalled, "and I recently came back to Christ because my fiance is Catholic."

She was drawn to the Church's reverence and to the Eucharist. Meeting her fiance, Pat DeMarco, and discovering the Catholic Church was "a pull from the Holy Spirit."

"I think that the teachings and everything that the Church stands for, I think a lot of what they cover is absolutely magical," said catechumen Mercedes Nadal, 23, of Natick. "And the fact that it is a direct lineage to the beginnings of the universe is really interesting."

Nadal was raised in another Christian denomination and was never baptized. She discovered Catholicism through her fiance Clay Hatch.

"I think it's what God is calling us to do," she said. "I'm very excited for the journey that we've been on and what we are going into now."