She didn’t know it at the time but Ella Wilson’s path to becoming a Catholic began one night in 2025, on the side of the road, waiting for her broken-down car to be towed away.
A Good Samaritan had stopped to see if she was alright and, being a mechanic himself, offered to stay and help her until the tow-truck arrived.
Weeks later, after the same mechanic had finished fixing Ella’s car, he told her why he had stopped to help. His explanation shocked her.
“He said that on the night he first helped me he had actually driven past me,” Ella said.
“About 10 minutes later he turned around and came back because he felt something telling him that I needed a sign.
“When he said those exact words to me everything suddenly clicked.”
Bishop Vincent presented with the Book of The Elect. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Ella said the reason for this realisation was that several weeks before the accident she had been thinking more and more about Christianity and had sat down one evening and prayed for a sign of what she should do. After hearing those words from the mechanic, she knew she had to act.
“It felt like a real encounter with Christ, except He was standing in front of me in the form of a humble mechanic,” she said.
About a week later she decided to attend Mass at Mary Immaculate Church in Quakers Hill where she saw the Rite of Catholic Initiation for Adults (RCIA) program advertised in the parish bulletin. So, she called up the parish to join the program.
“And here I am now seven months later with a full belief and trust in Christ,” Ella said.
She is one of 148 catechumens – a record number – from 32 parishes around the Diocese who attended the Rite of Election ceremony at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Parramatta on 22 February, celebrated by Bishop Vincent Long OFM Conv.
Candidates being presented to Bishop Vincent. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
This ceremony is an important step on the path to becoming a Catholic for those in the RCIA program, who are now referred to as ‘The Elect’. At the ceremony they are ‘elected’ to proceed to the sacraments of initiation at Mass on Easter Saturday, which include baptism, confirmation and receiving the Eucharist for the first time.
As well this group of 148 catechumens there is also a group of 55 candidates who will be seeking Full Communion into the Church on Holy Saturday. This takes the total number seeking to join the Church in the Parramatta Diocese this year to 203.
Fr Peter Williams AM, Vicar General and Moderator of the Curia in the Diocese of Parramatta, said this record number was part of a worldwide trend of people joining the Church.
“Given the state of the world and increasing uncertainty many people start to question the meaning of their lives, what purpose they have, and this often triggers a spiritual journey, and to explore faith,” he said.
Fr Raymond Ugwu CSSp, left, with catechumens from Richmond Parish, and Bishop Vincent and clergy, after the Rite of Election. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
But people were specifically being drawn to Catholic parish communities because “they like what they see”. And this record number of catechumens in the Diocese “is testament to the fact that our parishes are being effective in evangelisation”, Fr Peter said.
Another catechumen at the ceremony, Zavier Button, from Holy Spirit Parish at St Clair, said he had always been curious about faith, but “didn’t take it too seriously” until there was a time when he was “really seeking truth”. After talking to family members who were Catholic his belief grew stronger and he decided to join the RCIA program.
He said he was proud of how far he had come on his journey to becoming a Catholic, and “extremely excited” at the prospect of joining “God’s family”. But “more than anything I felt supported by my godparents and sponsor, who have guided me along the way”, he said.
“Life feels like it’s changing for the better.”
Fr John Nguyen OFM Cap with parishioners at the Rite of Election. Image: Alphonsus Fok/ Diocese of Parramatta
Zavier’s godparent Vasco Gil said: “To see Zavier inquire and genuinely want to understand the faith has been a blessing I prayed for but could never have imagined.
“The number of catechumens this year has been phenomenal, and I think it’s evidence that there is a change in the current society – our society is hungry for a relationship with God, hungry to know Him and hungry to be loved.”
The RCIA program is an example of the Diocesan Pastoral Plan priorities of being An Inclusive and Welcoming Church, and A Church Renewed in Spirit and Prayer. Visit Synodality to learn more.
Click here to see more images from the ceremony.
